Running for her Life
by TheDeepestEmeraldGreen
Summary: When Marie's abusive father was locked away with help from Mysterion, she thought her life would change for the better. But then her Dad breaks out of a prison, searching to kill her and Mysterion for locking him away. OCxKenny/OCxMysterion, OCxCraig
1. Chapter 1

Running for Her Life

A South Park fanfic

A/N- yes, I know I should be updating my other Fanfiction, but I have got some major writers block and all I'm thinking of right now is Pokemon and South Park, so it can wait!

I just saw the Coon and Friends episodes, and since I have a thing for making OCs- and I REALLY like Kenny, I decided to write this. Enjoy!

~000~

Marie Carter sat in her bed in South Park, Colorado. Her long blond hair was in a braid running down her back, and her sharp green eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses were skimming through a thick book sitting on her lap.

Her breath caught in her throat as she heard her father storming through the house. She quickly shut her book, took off her glasses, turned off her light, and let her head fall on her pillow in one swift motion as the first step creaked and her father's obscene muttering was heard.

Sixteen years of verbal and physical abuse had taught Marie not to be caught awake after curfew. _Bad girl Marie, you deserve a beating._

She closed her eyes as her father stomped past her bedroom door, and slammed another one close. She sat up for a second to try to hear anything coming from the room her father was in, but nothing came from the room.

Marie sighed and fell back on her pillow, banging her head on the edge of the bed frame. She winced and sat up, rubbing her head. Something caught her eye in the window and she whipped her head around to face it.

A teenager balanced himself there, dressed up as a superhero. A green letter "M" was emblazoned on his chest, a hood up over his face so all Marie could see was the teen's cool blue eyes and blond hair. She recognized him at once.

"Mysterion," she whispered, "what are you doing here?" It was a question she asked often, one she asked whenever the teen chose her house to come to unannounced. This time, the boy didn't answer, he simply shut the window behind himself and pulled down the blinds. He looked through the blinds once and after a second, he sighed and sat at the end of Marie's bed. The girl frowned.

"What the hell?" she hissed, grabbing her glasses and putting them on. Mysterion was gasping for breath, like he had been running from something. Marie pulled herself closer to him, tilting her head to the side. He opened his eyes after a minute.

"I need to hide," he muttered, keeping his eyes on the window. He pulled his gaze to the girl, noticing a bruise on her cheek. He raised an eyebrow and touched it delicately, pulling away when Marie winced. The girl decided to change the topic from her rocky relationship with her father to something else.

"So..." she said, pulling her knees up to her chest, "Tell me again why I can't know your true identity." She asked this almost every time he visited, starting with the first one. (_A/N-Marie had moved to South Park in the fifth grade, so she missed the whole Cuthulu incident. Since then, Kenny wanted to keep Mysterion's identity a secret, for safety reasons_)

Mysterion snorted quietly, looking away. "You know why," he replied evenly. Marie frowned, but soon giggled in spite of herself.

"Well, I know it anyway, _Kenny_," she said softly. Kenny's eyes darted over to the girl and looked her straight in the eye.

"How did you find that out? Cartman told you, didn't he," he asked. Marie shook her head, smiling.

"I figured it out on my own. Jeez," she laughed softly. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and pushed her glasses up farther on the bridge of her nose. "Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Butters, Clyde... they didn't tell me anything about you."

"Hmm... then is it really that obvious?" he asked thickly. Marie shook her head again, lying her head down on her knees. Her smile faded and she looked down.

"What?" he asked, concerned. Marie sighed and studied a stain on her carpet.

"Oh, it's nothing. Your alive and everything, so, yeah..." she murmured. Kenny's eyes widened. She couldn't actually know... could she?

"What do you mean I'm really alive and everything?" he asked a little too forcefully. Marie looked up, alarmed.

"They're just dreams, Kenny! Really!" she exclaimed. She gasped and covered her mouth, realizing how loud she just was. A door opened and there was stomping, and it was getting closer, closer, with every step...

She got up and locked her door tightly, before looking outside out of habit. Marie started to panic.

"What am I gonna do? What the hell am I gonna do? He's gonna beat me again..." she started mumbling furiously. Kenny got up off the bed, and walked over to the door. He put his ear on the door and listened closely for a second. What he thought would be knocking lightly was really harsh pounding.

He hissed, clutching the side of his head as he backed away from the door.

"Open the door, bitch!" boomed a voice, thick with drugs and alcohol. Marie whimpered and sat down on the edge of her bed, tapping the bed-frame with her fingernails.

"Leave! Now!" she shrieked at Kenny. She ran over to him and tried to shove him closer to the window. Kenny stood his ground, and shook his head.

"Why? Just get out of here!" she said desperately into his chest, clutching the front of his costume. Kenny hesitated. Maybe her dad would leave...

The pounding continued along with an extremely long chain of continuous curses for a few moments, but then it stopped as the two teens heard someone running down the stairs.

"Oh no," Marie moaned, "He's going to get the key." The blond female now looked extremely pale, like she was about to throw up.

They both heard someone coming up the steps and the girl braced herself as the door was thrown open. The father stood there, red-faced and breathing heavily. He looked enraged, but then confused as he saw Kenny standing with Marie, who was still holding onto the boys costume.

"Who is this, bitch?" her father asked, his voice filled with disbelief. The father suddenly shook his head, glaring at Mysterion. "Wait, you're that Mystery kid. Why are you here?"

Kenny cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak, but Marie's father butted in again, "Wait. I don't care why you're here. Why are you here with _her_?" He spat out the word "her" like it was a piece of rotting garbage. Marie flinched.

"Get out of my home," he said, but then he directed his voice to Marie, "And _you_. You are grounded for the rest of the month. I will drive you to school and back home every day, no questions."

Marie took a second to find her voice to answer him, but even then, her voice was shaking. "Y-yes D-Dad. No questions."

"To think... my daughter is a little slut. Who'da thunk?" her father muttered as Kenny walked out of the bedroom door, glancing once back over his shoulder at the girl with the green eyes.

000

Marie hurt all over. Her father had given her an _extra special_ beating now that he had caught her with a guy in her room. The bruises were going to show, but thankfully Marie had gotten concealer to take care of it.

She looked at her dad out of the corner of her eye as she road in his rusty old pick-up. He had a major hangover, and he did _not_ want to be talked to.

Her eyes darted out the window as they went past the same bus stop she _should_ have gone to this morning. Kenny, Stan, Wendy, Kyle, and Cartman were already there. Kyle was yelling at Cartman about something. Stan and Wendy were holding hands. Kenny was just watching, half his face wrapped with an orange scarf.

Marie almost sighed in desperation.

Kyle saw her first and waved, and she smiled back. Cartman turned and started laughing as he saw her dad with her, but he was soon quieted as Kenny hit him over the head, his face expressionless.

"Who are they waving to?" her father snapped, and Marie jumped and looked straight ahead.

"No one, Dad. They-," Marie took a deep breath before continuing, "They aren't right in the head." Her father only snorted, not responding any further.

When they got to the school, she quickly grabbed her book-bag and slung one strap over her shoulder. He dad cleared his throat.

"You be out here at 3:30, you hear? Or you'll have to walk home. Got it?" he rumbled. Marie nodded and stepped out of the car, shutting the door softly.

She shuddered as the car pulled out of the parking lot and down the road. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her body, hoping her shudder wasn't from the cold, and started walking toward the school. She was quickly greeted by her best friend Kimberly.

Marie smiled. "Where's Craig?" she asked innocently. Kimberly sniffed and looked down.

"He's not here yet," she sighed dramatically.

"Sorry to hear that," Marie said, rubbing her bruised cheek. Kimberly didn't notice as Craig Tucker caught her eye. She said a quick goodbye and rushed over to the boy.

Marie smiled as she went to her locker, got her things, and went to class.

The school day passed quickly and soon it was lunchtime. Marie grabbed her lunch of a peanut-butter sandwich out of her locker an shut the door. To her surprise, Kenny was standing there with his lunch of a baloney sandwich in a paper bag.

"Jesus Christ, Kenny!" she gasped, jumping a little.

"Sorry," he said, looking down. He lowered his voice and said, "I wanted to say sorry for those too." Marie tilted her head, confused. Kenny sighed and gently brushed a bruise on her cheek with his index finger. "Those," he said quietly. He experienced abuse firsthand, even if he stopped it with Mysterion.

Marie pushed his hand away gently, laughing.

"No, it's alright. Really. I would have 'had it coming to me' anyway..." she said.

The two stood in silence, the tension growing.

"Kenneh! Marie! Are you coming or what?" Cartman yelled from down the hall.

Kenny turned and replied, "Shut up, fatass! We'll get there when we get there!" He turned back to Marie. "Come on. Let's get going."

Marie nodded and they walked down the hall toward the lunchroom.

HATERS GONNA HATE. FLAMES WILL BE USED TO MAKE MY COOKIES. 8D

Reviews will be appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

Running for Her Life

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- Wow. I have LOTS of time to write this. I could have updated yesterday, but I started watching Soul Eater, and I ended up watching, erm, eight hours of it. *laughs nervously* So sorry 'bout that!

512southpatkrocker135- Thanks so much for the review! Hope you enjoy this next chapter!

~000~

Marie and Kenny entered the lunchroom cautiously. There was no telling when a food-fight could break out. Thankfully, no food was being flung that day at South Park High.

Kyle was waving from a table to the duo's left. Marie smiled and walked over to the table and took a seat across from Wendy. Kenny took a seat on her left, and an empty seat was left at Marie's right. Tweek chose to sit there between her and Craig, who was making out with Kimberly. Marie sighed as Cartman choked on his lunch as he spotted the two and Tweek let out a "Gah!"

"Eh! Go suck face somewhere else!" Cartman coughed, which earned a middle finger up from each person in the pair. Craig broke a kiss for a moment and looked over at Eric.

"Fuck off," the Tucker boy said, impassive. The he turned back to Kimberly and started another game of tonsil hockey. Cartman let out a cry of rage and started yelling at the pair again, who just ignored him. Marie watched as she rolled a bite of her sandwich over her tounge, savoring the taste of peanut-butter. Beside her, Tweek took a sip of coffee from his travel mug.

"Leave them alone, fatass," Kyle snorted, bringing his sandwich to his lips and taking a bite. "They do it every day anyway. You should be used to it by now."

"Well what if I'm not, and I'm sick of them swapping spit while I'm eating, Jew?" Cartman retorted, waiting for Kyle's reaction.

"Well go eat somewhere else then," Kyle said calmly. Everyone laughed and started agreeing with Kyle, all except Cartman. He was boiling, and he looked over at Marie. His lips curved into a smile as something on her cheek caught his eye. He waited for Marie took a bite of her sandwich before speaking.

"Hey Marie, did your Dad give you a nice beating last night or what? You look terrible," he said slowly. Marie choked on her sandwich and started coughing. Craig and Kimberly broke up their game as soon as the words were uttered. Kenny's eyes narrowed. Tweek let out another "Gah!"

"W-what?" Marie spluttered when she stopped coughing.

"Do I need to kick your ass again, Cartman?" Wendy asked sharply.

"Yeah. What the hell, fatass?" Stan asked.

Kyle kicked Cartman out of his seat. "Go sit with someone else, Cartman. No one needed to hear that, so fuck off," he said. Eric grumbled and moved to sit at the end of Pip and Damion's table.

"You guys really didn't need to do that you know," Marie said, laughing quietly. Kyle turned around and grinned.

"I know, but he was pissing me off anyway," he said. Kenny threw an arm around Marie, mussing her hair.

"We won't let the Hitler re-incarnate mess with ya'," he said teasingly. Marie laughed, trying to push Kenny away. Wendy began muttering about how she was gonna kick the shit out of that fatass, and Stan and Kyle laughed, nodding and saying words of encouragement.

"What the hell do think you're doing?" a gruff voice asked behind Marie. Marie squeaked, and froze. Why was he here? She bit her lip, her eyes wide. Tweek let another "Gah!" slip.

Everyone at the table fell silent. Kenny let go of Marie and faced her father and Marie turned slowly, not wanting to face her father so soon.

"D-Dad!" she asked. "What are you doing here?" Marie cringed when her father's eyes narrowed, and suddenly she felt the urge to hit herself. What a stupid question to ask!

"What do you mean?" Her father growled, moving closer to his daughter's face. She shut her eyes, whimpering inwardly, wishing how the horrible nightmare she was experiencing would just end and leave her lying in her bed at home. Unfortunately, no such luck befell the girl.

"I'm here to make sure little sluts like _you_ don't decide to try to make any money here while you were supposedly at school. But here I find you with some boy feeling lucky!"

Marie's eyes shot open, and she let the question word "what" fall from her lips before she was roughly dragged from her seat at the lunch-table.

"We're going home. _Now,_" her father said dangerously. He started dragging Marie out of the cafeteria. Marie struggled against her father's grip. Sh knew she wasn't supposed to go, she still had three periods left today, she couldn't leave, so she said it.

"No." Her father didn't answer. "No!" she repeated, this time louder and more forcefully. Her father stopped walking.

"What did you just say?" he asked, voice brimming with acid.

Marie swallowed as she gathered up her strengths. "I said 'no', Dad" she said hoarsely. Marie blinked and suddenly she was on the ground, her head pounding.

_He hit her. _

_In school._

Marie felt her panic rise, deep in her gut. He never hit her anywhere in public. _Ever!_

Marie was suddenly being dragged backward by strong hands, and suddenly she was staring at Wendy's face, white with fright. Kimberly was beside her, her curly brown hair bouncing, gray eyes wide. Someone was shouting, a whistle being blown somewhere.

"Marie? Marie! Are you alright?" Wendy was asking. Marie blinked again, half expecting to be seeing ground instead of her friend's faces. She groaned at the pain in her head, and she rubbed it gently. She started seeing black tugging at the sides of her vision, so she gently shook her head, seeing the black retreat.

Green, gloved hands were suddenly helping her up, and now Marie was looking at brown eyes under a hooded cloak. Mysterion. The thing that Marie didn't get though, was that Kenny was at his side, still in his orange parka. And Mysterion had blue eyes, not brown!

"You okay there?" the hooded figure with the brown eyes asked. Marie nodded, but tilted her head to the side. The hair that was showing was black. Suddenly, Marie had an epiphany.

"Craig?" she asked, "Why are you-" she was cut off when a police siren cut through the air.

"Let me go you bastards!" Marie's father's voice rang out, overflowing with anger. He was being held back by the gym teacher and the janitor. He kept staring at Marie and Mysterion.

Marie shook her head. Everything was happening to damn fast!

Police officers came into the school, storming in and pinning Marie's dad to the wall. They handcuffed him and began walking him outside as they were telling him his rights. He struggled against them and yelled out, "Watch yourself, bitch. I'm gonna come and kill you AND that Mystery kid! You just watch!" Then he was gone.

Marie's eyes had widened and she had shrank back farther behind Craig as her father was condemning her to death.

"Great, McCormick. Now I've gotten a death sentence put on me because of you," Craig grumbled.

"No. He won't come. And anyway, I'm the real one so he would have been coming after me anyway. Marie, are you alright?" Kenny asked.

Marie could feel herself slipping. The room was beginning to darken and her head was pounding. She tried to nod, but instead, she slipped into peaceful darkness as the world left her.

~000~

Marie opened her eyes to see her ceiling in the moonlight. She sat up, ignoring the protests of her aching head, and looked at the clock. It said 8:30.

Her door opened and first she feared it was her father, that the whole two days had just been just a dream. Instead, her mother peaked in to door, shyly.

"Oh, Marie," he mother sighed, walking over and pulling her into a hug. "The school nurse said it was a concussion, but I feared something else. But it looks like you're okay to me."

Marie blinked. So it wasn't a dream. She sighed in relief.

"Mom, you're as relieved as I am about Dad, aren't you?" she asked quietly. Her mother paused for a moment, but hen nodded into her shoulder, and pulled back from the embrace.

"Now is there anything you need? Dinner?" she asked Marie, who just shook her head.

"I'm just still tired, Mom," she said.

Her mother smiled and kissed her forehead. "Alright. I'll be downstairs if you need me," she cooed. She left the room and closed the door behind her.

Marie sighed and fell back on her pillow, banging her head on the bed-frame again. She hissed and sat up, rubbing the spot she had hit with her index finger.

"Did it again, huh?" a voice came from the window. Marie jumped and looked over. Mysterion stood there, almost like he had been there the entire time. This time, the eyes under the hood were a cool blue, and the hair was blond.

Marie smiled and nodded. Kenny walked over to her and sat on the end of the bed, his eyes cold and hard, a frown etched on his face. Marie's smile fell.

"What's wrong?" she asked the boy. He muttered something about "idiot police-men", avoiding her gaze. Marie's panic rose slightly and her eyes widened.

"What did you say, Kenny?" she asked, her voice shaking a bit. Kenny looked over at her, his gaze softening just a bit. He took a deep breath before saying,

"Your father broke out of prison an hour ago. He's looking for us."

~000~

DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! xD

Reviews are appreciated! Please tell me how I'm doing!


	3. Chapter 3

Running for Her Life

A South Park Fanfic

A/N- I have to go back to school tomorrow, so I won't have much time to update this. I'll try to update as much as I can when I can, but I'm not promising that I'll update every other day or something, because I simply just _can't_. I'm really sorry, but I promised myself I'll update at least once more before I go back! Hope you guys like it!

Crystal the Cat- Really? I'm glad my story appeals to you! :D

ChristyWinchester101- Oh thank you! I really like a lot of your South Park stories too!

~000~

Marie's breathing stopped, and she froze. No... no, no, no, no! This wasn't happening- he was supposed to go to jail and try guilty so Marie could go live her life without having him intrude anymore! Marie started breathing again, but her breaths were rough and uneven, causing her to start hyperventilating.

Kenny sat on the edge of her bed, trying frantically to calm her down before she passed out again. This took a few moments, but soon Marie was breathing deeply.

Marie could feel the tears beginning to sting in her eyes, so she covered her face to hide them. Surely _this _was the nightmare she had been dreading, and she would wake up any moment, thrashing in her bed as her mother would come in to comfort her. _He_ would still be in jail, and she would go to school tomorrow without any fear that she'll get a beating ever again.

Marie pinched herself, trying to wake up from the nightmare, but she winced instead. She was wide awake. No nightmare for her. She scowled.

Kenny was calm beside her, waiting patiently for her to realize the severity of the situation. When she started sobbing, he clenched his teeth, looking nervously toward the window. He patted her back gently after a moment, murmuring, "Aw, come on, Marie. Don't cry. It's gonna be okay. I promise."

Marie whipped her head to face him rather abruptly, and he jumped.

"No it isn't going to be okay! How can you be so cool about this?" she shouted, staring at him through her tears.

Kenny simply blinked, his face holding a surprised expression, and didn't answer. Marie threw her fist down, hitting the bed next to his leg harshly.

"Dammit, Kenny answer me! We could _die!_ Actually die, and you say that everything's going to be okay? How can you say that? Aren't you scared to die? To leave behind everything and everybody you've ever cared about?" her voice broke on the last sentence and she started crying.

Kenny looked down at her sadly. _If only you you knew about me and death,_ he thought, and he closed his eyes. He put his arms around her as she sobbed, soon hearing footsteps.

Kenny froze, breaking away from the girl and tensing up as her bedroom door opened. Thankfully, it was only Marie's mother.

She rushed over to Marie's side, asking her what was making her so upset. She turned her attention to Mysterion as he cleared his throat.

"Your husband is looking for your daughter and myself, Ma'am," he said, not taking his eyes off of Marie. Said girl choked on her sobs as she tried to hold them back, not crying anymore.

"What does he want to do with you?" Marie's mother asked, concern coloring her tone.

"To kill us," Marie said flatly, finally silencing her sobs.

Her mother's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she pulled her daughter into a hug, clutching onto her tightly.

"I was going to take Marie to a safe location before your husband finds us here," Mysterion said finally, looking down and studying Marie's bed-sheet.

Marie's mother was silent for a minute, taking in what she had discovered.

"Alright," she said finally. "You can take her. I'll do anything to keep her safe, and I trust you will keep her safe for me until the police catch him again."

"Absolutely," Mysterion said, looking up to face her. She had some emotion hidden in her eyes that Kenny couldn't place, something between accusing him of something and pride.

"Marie? Where is your backpack? I want you to pack some clothes and some books. I'm going to be writing you a letter that will keep you out of school for a few weeks, but maybe we can get one of your teachers to send the homework "home" for you..." her mother said, beginning to throw open drawers and grabbing outfits for her daughter.

Mysterion got off the bed as Marie got her backpack and began putting the clothes in there. He grabbed a couple of books that were on a shelf across the room and gently put them in the backpack as well.

Suddenly, a crash downstairs made everyone freeze.

"He's in the house," Mysterion breathed. Marie's eyes darted over to him and her breathing hitched.

Mysterion looked around the room hurriedly, trying to find a space small enough for Marie and himself to hide, when he suddenly looked under the bed for space. Thankfully it was enough for two.

He grabbed Marie gently, and told her quietly to hide under the bed. She nodded with wide eyes and crawled under. Mysterion looked over at Marie's mother, who looked worried, but motioned for him to crawl under the bed with her daughter.

After a quick and silent thank you, Mysterion obliged, and squeezed under the low bed-frame as best as he could. He moved closer to the back before feeling Marie in the darkness, putting himself in front of her.

Marie felt her cold wall behind her press against her back and Kenny in front of her. She barely breathed, trying to be as silent as she possibly could. She wrapped her arms around the boy, pressing her face into his back to muffle any other sounds she thought she heard herself utter as her heart hammered in her chest.

Kenny was listening to any sounds outside of the room when he saw Marie's mother leave the room. _What is she doing?_ He thought wildly, trying to ignore Marie who was now breathing unevenly and quickly into his back.

"Calm down," he whispered as quietly as he could. Kenny felt her breathing attempt to slow, and slowly it did. Soon after that, voices began floating up from downstairs.

"Oh, honey," Marie's mother voiced, feigning interest, "What are you doing home so early?"

Another voice, gruff and hard that caused Marie to whimper behind him came next. "Does it matter? Where's the kid?" her father asked.

"She's doing an extra-credit report at a friends house. Why? Did you need her?" her mother lied, boredom laced through her words.

"Because I need to see her with this," her father said viciously. The sound of a gun being loaded was heard. Marie's muffled shriek into Kenny's back was heard and she held onto him tighter.

"W-what are you doing with that gun?" her mother asked, fear in her voice. Mr. Carter didn't answer. He pulled the trigger.

A gun shot rang through the house and Marie froze and her eyes widened.

"That'll teach that woman to not send that little whore _anywhere_ without permision," Marie's father said smugly, reloading his hand gun.

Marie was sobbing into Kenny's back now, trying desperately to do so as quietly as she could. Her mother wasn't dead, was she? No! She couldn't be... she wouldn't die, just like that.

A door was shut, and her father left the house.

Kenny and Marie were frozen, but then suddenly, Kenny began moving from out of the bed as quickly as he could.

"Do you have a phone?" he asked Marie, and she nodded and pointed down the steps.

"In the living room," she said miserably, running out of the room and the stairs. Kenny ran down the steps as well on her heels. They both burst into the kitchen to see Mrs. Carter on the ground, sitting up, but holding a wound in her side.

Kenny ran into the living room as Marie fell to the ground to help her mother.

"Hello, 911, what's your emergency?" the woman's voice asked calmly after Kenny had dialed the number and listened for a few moments.

"My friends mother was just shot by her father! Please send an ambulance as fast as you can!" Kenny pleaded.

"Hold on. I've gathered your location. An ambulance is on it's way. Just stay calm!" the woman said before Kenny ended the call. He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth as Marie started crying again.

_Aren't you scared to die? To leave behind everything and everybody you've ever cared about?_ Marie's voice echoed in his head. Kenny frowned and looked into the kitchen to the girl with the blond hair and green eyes.

_No,_ he concluded,_ I've died countless times, and even though is still fucking hurts, death doesn't scare me anymore. And besides, you're the only one I really care about anymore, Marie._

000~

Phew! *wipes imaginary sweat off of forehead* It's done! Hope you like this next chapter guys! :D


	4. Chapter 4

Running for Her Life- Chapter 4

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- I want to thank ALL of you who reviewed, I can't thank you all personally now, but I will when I update next time. I _really _want to update before I got bored and lost interest or just plain forgot about it... Enjoy the next chapter! 8D

~000~

Mysterion waited by the phone for a few minutes before realizing something. He rushed over to Marie, who was fumbling over some bandages for her mother before the ambulance arrived. Her hands were shaking so badly, she couldn't unwrap the thin plastic covering the package of bandages.

"I need to go make sure our friends won't end up in tomorrow's obituaries," Mysterion muttered as he opening the package for the other blonde gently.

"No need," Marie murmured after mumbling thanks. "He doesn't know about any of you. I made sure of that." She blinked away some rebellious tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks before her mother or Mysterion noticed. Mysterion raised an eyebrow.

"He saw us earlier today, didn't he?" he asked, which earned another shake of the head.

"He may have, but that doesn't mean he knows where any of you live," Marie insisted. She started wrapping the bandage over the gunshot wound, blood already began staining the brand new bandage bright red. Mysterion stared for a few moment before replying.

"Alright," he said finally, wondering why she was so against him going anywhere. He shook his head, standing and moving to the window.

"Need... to go..." Marie's mother moaned suddenly. Mysterion turned his head, facing the the green-eyed girl's mother. She stared at him harshly, and he almost cringed.

"T-Take her and g-go... before he comes back..." she begged. "I'm entrusting her life to you."

Mysterion nodded, but Marie didn't get up to move. She shook her head, looking down and muttering, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Marie," her mother said sharply. Marie looked up, her eyes wide. Her mother looked at her pleadingly, and Marie looked down.

"Please go so you can save your life," her mother said. Marie frowned, moving her glasses and wiping her eyes with her long sleeved shirt, like she was six, not sixteen.

"Go," he mother said one last time. Marie looked up, nodding after a long pause. "Such a good girl," her mother smiled.

Marie started shaking again, and Mysterion helped her up. He ran upstairs and grabbed her back-pack, shoving the clothes strewn all over her bed into it before meeting her in the kitchen. He started leading her to the front door as the ambulance sirens were beginning to be heard in the distance.

Marie put on the coat, scarf, gloves, and hat quickly. Kenny handed her her bag, and he looked at her once, waiting to see if she was ready. She swallowed, but then nodded as she bit her lip.

They opened the door and ran off into the night.

~000~

"Where are we going?" Marie asked as Kenny led her away from her house.

"Kyle's house," he responded, looking both ways at a street before crossing.

"Why?" Marie pried.

"'Rents said you could stay for the night," Kenny said. Marie's made a face. Kenny looked back and grinned before saying, "Don't worry. Stan's there too, and I'll be over later. You aren't going to stay there tomorrow anyway."

"So you're basically saying I'm staying over at a _boy's_ house. Not only that, but _three _boys are going to be in the same room with me while I sleep. How did you get Kyle's mom to agree?" Marie asked, laughing slightly.

Kenny looked thoughtful for a moment and they stopped running. He glanced at her and said, "I'm not quite sure. I only said you needed a place to stay... I guess she found out about your dad..." He trailed off after he saw that Marie's face held an expression of grief when he brought up her father.

"Sorry," he muttered as he turned away, grabbed her hand, and began running again. Marie was jerked forward and she started running too, looking down at the ground.

About a minute later, they made it to the Broflovski's abode. Kenny told her she had to go to the door herself because he had to go change out of his costume. She took a deep breath as she walked up the walkway and up to the door, where she promptly rang the doorbell. The red-haired woman known as Shelia Broflovski answered.

"Oh, Marie! I heared about your father earlier today, and I wanted to say I was sorry," she said almost immediately. Marie shrugged, looking at the ground. Shelia ushered Marie inside and closed the door, keeping the snow and cold air outside.

"Kyle! Marie's here!" Shelia called.

"We're upstairs, Mom!" Kyle yelled back. Marie made her way to the steps before pausing.

"Thanks for letting me stay, Mrs. Broflovski," Marie said, looking back at the older woman.

"It's fine. You're welcome any time, Marie," Shelia answered. Marie smiled and went upstairs, going into Kyle's room.

Kyle and Stan were playing something on the Xbox 360 located in the corner of Kyle's room. They paused their game and looked back at her.

"How you feeling?" Kyle asked, brushing a few of his red curls out of his face.

"Fine, I guess," Marie replied, shrugging and putting her back-pack near Stan's, which was in front of Kyle's closet.

"Dude, you passed out and hit your head on the corner of the lunch-table. Are you sure your okay? Everyone was freaking out," Stan laughed.

Marie laughed too, rubbing the back of her head. "Well, I feel fine, so I _guess_ I am," she said. She moved to Kyle's bed and sat down on in, slightly bouncing on the bed-springs.

Stan's phone went off, and he opened it. He smirked after a moment, handing it to Marie.

"Kimberly," he explained, "She'll just _die_ if she doesn't know if you're alright and it's not you saying it." Marie sighed and took the phone. She sent a message quickly saying, **_Stop sending texts to Stan. __I'm alright. Geez._**

Marie shut the phone, and in a few seconds, another text showed up on Stan's phone. It read, **_I need to see you to make sure Stan's not lying again. LOL. I'm coming over in a bit, but I need to know when..._**

"She wants to come over, Kyle," Marie said, her fingers hovering over the cell phone's keyboard. The red-head sighed, but looked at the clock.

"Tell her to get in through the window at 10. My 'rents will be asleep by then,"Kyle said after a moment. Marie texted Kimberly back with the news and shut the phone again, handing it back to Stan.

No sooner than she handed back the phone, Shelia Broflovski called up the steps that Kenny had arrived. The boy in the orange parka got in the room a minute after that, carrying his back-pack and throwing it with the other ones.

"Hey, Kenny," Stan said. "Kimberly's coming over later."

"Really?" Kenny said as he removed his scarf and took down his hood. His icy blue eyes glanced over to Marie, who had taken Stan's place at the Xbox. "How come?"

"She needs to make sure I'm not in a coma or dead," Marie said.

Kenny shrugged, asked, "Why couldn't she have Stan or Kyle tell her you were fine?" Marie sighed, and looked back at him.

"She needed to see me with her own eyes," she said, smiling and rolling her eyes.

"Whatever. So... what are you playing?" Kenny asked.

~000~

At 9:45, a tap at the window caused the four to pause their game of Call of Duty 2, and Marie pulled the curtains back. Outside was Kimberly Johnson, grinning for ear to ear.

Marie opened the window and was immediately tackled into a hug and they fell back on Kyle's bed.

"Heya, Chica!" Kimberly crowed, squeezing Marie tightly. Marie coughed as the air in her lungs was forced to leave her.

"Kimberly...I...need air..." Marie gasped. Kimberly let go of the girl, her face now serious.

"Marie... you know about your dad, right?" she asked. Marie's eyes widened and Kyle and Stan questioned in unison, "What about him?"

Marie looked down and bit her lip. Kenny sighed, explaining how Marie's father broke out of prison and how he was looking for them.

Kyle put an arm around Marie, and Kimberly rested her head on Marie's shoulder. "He shot my mom. I needed to get out," she said quietly. Kimberly gasped when she mentioned Mrs. Carter getting shot. She sat up and looked at Marie, who was playing with her long blonde hair that was put in a messy ponytail.

"Will she be okay?" she asked. Marie shrugged, her face expressionless. All five teens sat in silence for a few moments.

"Well, I've gotta go before my mom finds out I left," Kimberly said, getting up off the bed. She gave Marie a hug before going to the window. She gave a playful salute before going out the window and leaving.

"Don't worry, Marie," Kenny said. "We'll take good care of you."

~000~

I caught up on a LOT of South Park in my absence, so it'll be a lot easier to write this now. XD

Reviews are greatly appreciated! I want to know how I'm doing! If it needs improvements, please tell me what I can do to make it better!

Flames will be used to build a fire so I can have marshmallows! Haters of flames are welcome to come! xD


	5. Chapter 5

Running for Her Life- Chapter 5

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- Holy crap! I'm actually updating in less than a week? All of my readers are giving me the push to update as soon as I can. You guys rock! 8D

~000~

Marie stared at Kyle's ceiling, listening to soft snoring coming from the other three boys in the room. She rolled over and closed her eyes, trying to drift off to dreamland.

The sound of a gunshot echoed in her head, and her eyes flew open. She grimaced and pulled her blanket- lent to her by the Broflovski's- closer up her body so it was covering her mouth. Her fingers clenched around the ends of the cover as she tried shutting her eyes, this time more tightly, to try to fall asleep again. A few minutes went by with no avail.

Marie sighed and sat up. It must have been nearly four in the morning, as Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and she had went to bed at about three. She reached for her glasses on Kyle's bedside table, trying not to wake him from his slumber. When her fingers enclosed themselves around the plastic frames, she stood up and put them on before making her way to the bathroom.

The girl went in and shut the door lightly behind her before flipping on the light. She moved to the mirror, looking at her reflection intently.

Same green eyes. The ones always hidden behind a pair of glasses she didn't need. She took them off, blinking twice. The world around her looked the same. Maybe a little blurry, but not enough to give her a head ache or cause any problems. Marie scowled. _He_ was the one who made her wear them all the time anyway. She turned back to the mirror.

Same sandy blond hair. It was usually straight, falling down her shoulders and ending in the middle of her back. Days of having it in a braid had given it a slight wave. Marie picked up a lock of her hair in front of her face and tucked it behind her ear. She frowned. She had inherited her blond hair from _him_.

Marie's eyes caught a glimpse of a pair of scissors on the edge of the sink. She picked them up, studying the blade. She took a handful of hair and put the scissors up to her hair, cutting it. Her hair fluttered to the floor silently. She took another chunk, slicing it off with the double blades. She repeated the action over and over, until all of her hair was the same length. Short.

A pile of her hair had built up around her feet from where she had dropped the handfuls. Marie looked at her reflection in the mirror again.

Her hair now came down to about her chin. Since Marie no longer had her glasses on, her own eyes stared back at her. She could see fear in those eyes: fear for her mother, fear for her friends, fear for her own life; but she could still see a bit of strength. She looked completely different now. She blinked. The girl in the mirror blinked back.

Marie turned on the faucet, turning the water cold. She splashed her face with the chilling water, drying her face with the towel beside her. She sighed quietly and bent down to pick up her hair, gathering the pieces and throwing them in the trashcan beside the sink. She grabbed her glasses and turned off the light, shaking her head as she was momentarily blinded.

When she regained her vision a moment later, she crept out into the hallway, tiptoeing into Kyle's room. She got back under her makeshift cot and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep while feeling like the weight of the world was taken off of her shoulders.

~000~

Marie awake the next morning at about 10:30. She opened her eyes, yawning. Looking around, she noticed Stan was still asleep, his phone flashing that he had a new message. Kyle was waking up, but he still had one arm slung over the side of his bed, his green hat falling off his head. Kenny had fallen asleep reading a porno. The proof was the dirty magazine lying over his face as his chest rose and fell. Marie almost sighed, trying to blink sleep out of her eyes.

She let her head hit her pillow again and she tried falling back asleep, mashing her head in the pillow. A pillow smacked her in the back, and she groaned.

"Come on, I know you're up," Kyle said sleepily. Marie sat up, thoroughly annoyed she couldn't get a couple minutes of more sleep.

Kyle repeated the pillow throwing, this time throwing it at Stan, who ignored him, throwing the pillow back at the redhead and pulling his blanket over his head.

"Get up, dude," Kyle said. "We need to wake up now."

"That's a load of shit," Stan muttered, his voice muffled. "I'm going back to sleep now."

Kenny rolled over and moaned in his sleep, his porno falling off his face.

"Get up, you perv," Marie said, chucking her pillow at the other blonde. It whacked him in the head, and he shot up, wide awake. When he saw that Marie threw it, he simply took the pillow, added it to his other one, and tried falling back to sleep.

"Come on, Kenny! Give it back!" Marie whined, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Kenny shook his head, covering his face with his porno.

"Whoa, Marie! When did you cut your hair?" Kyle asked suddenly. Marie fell silent.

"You're lying, Broflovski. Shut up and go to sleep," the raven-haired boy mumbled.

"Dude, I'm not lying. Why would I lie about a girl's hair to wake you up?" Kyle snapped. Stan didn't answer. He slowly lifted his head out from under the blanket, and turned it so he was facing Marie. His eyes widened.

"Whoa. Kenny. Kenny! Get up! She really did cut her hair off," Stan said, shaking Kenny awake. He groaned, but got up and looked over at Marie. His expression turned to surprise.

Marie's face flushed from all the attention she was getting, and she looked down. "Does, erm... does it look okay?"

"Yeah! It looks good!" Stan said. Marie looked back up, smiling. She looked over at Kenny.

"Now can I have my pillow?" she asked. Kenny sighed, but laid back down.

"No," he said. Kyle and Stan laughed. Marie pursed her lips. She got up and walked over to the McCormick boy, kneeling down beside him. She grabbed the ends of the two pillows, looking at his expression.

"Don't you dare, Carter," Kenny said in a low voice. Then Marie pulled.

Kenny's head hit the floor and Marie smirked, holding the stolen pillows close to her chest.

"Too late," she said innocently. Stan and Kyle burst into laughter, Kenny sitting up and rubbing his head. He frowned, sighing as Marie let out a giggle.

Suddenly everyone stopped as they heard something outside. It sounded like muffled shouting. Kyle opened his window and the sound filled the room.

"Hey, you damn Jew! I was tired of calling for you!" a voice yelled. Everyone groaned. Cartman.

"What do you want, fatass?" Kyle asked, his eye twitching slightly at the Jew comment. "Wait. No, don't come up here!" Kyle was shoved out of the way and Eric Cartman entered his room through his window. He scrutinized Marie, who was still kneeling next to Kenny, her arms wrapped around the pillows. She wore a confused expression.

"Oh, looks like the fucker's daughter entered your home, huh, Kahl?" Cartman said, passing her. Kyle scowled, and Kenny put his foot out discretely, tripping Eric in the process.

"Oops," Kenny said sarcastically. Cartman scrambled to his feet, brushing off his coat while glaring at the blondes.

"How were you able to scream for so long without my parents knowing?" Kyle asked finally. Cartman smiled sadistically back at the redhead.

"Don't you remember? Your family was going to run a few errands this morning," he said, laughing a bit. Kyle crossed his arms, sighing.

"Marie. You know your daddy is looking oh so hard for you right now?" Cartman asked, looking at the blonde female. She held her pillows closer to her chest and she bit her lip, looking down.

"Yeah. I was the first one to know, fatboy. What about him?" Kenny asked, his eyes narrowing. Cartman chortled.

"Nothing, Kenneh. Everything is just fine. By the way, Marie, your hair looks good that way," Eric said, shrugging. Marie relaxed after Cartman dropped the subject. Everyone got dressed- except Cartman, who was already dressed- and they left Kyle's house, leaving all their stuff there.

It was a Saturday. All the kids were outside, not giving the teens much room to roam, so they ended meeting up with Kimberly and Wendy, who were outside Wendy's house.

"Ohmigod, Marie!" Wendy wailed, throwing her arms around the startled girl. "I'm so worried about you! I heared everything from Kimi! I'm so sorry!" Marie gave Kimberly a look from Wendy's shoulder as the black-haired girl fussed over her. Kimberly grinned and gave her the playful salute she gave everyone last night.

"You stayed with Kyle and them last night? Did they treat you okay?" Wendy asked.

"Hey! Are you saying we don't know how to treat girls right? Because we treated her just fine, didn't we Marie?" Stan asked. Marie laughed, embarassed.

"She cut her hair? She must have had one hell of a night if she cut her hair, Stan," Wendy continued, playing with the ends of Marie's hair.

"Hey, Testaburger!" a girl's voice called. Wendy looked out across the road to see Bebe Stevens, standing with Clyde, Token, and Kevin.

"Why don't you come back with us instead of hanging out with them?" Bebe asked, her voice a little snobbish.

"Nah, maybe another day, Stevens," Wendy said, turning her back to the curly blonde. Bebe sniffed, and walked off, Clyde, Token, and Kevin following behind her. It was a shame she and Wendy had drifted apart after eighth grade. They had a huge fight and were never as close as they were before.

Wendy began fussing over Marie's hair, and before long, Craig showed up- to Kimberly's delight. His parents were fighting again, so he wanted to be as far away from them as possible.

Tweek came running in soon after that, freaking out about something. He ran into Craig, an they both fell to the ground, Tweek crying out in surprise. The Tucker boy showed him his middle finger as they got up.

"Jesus! Sorry, Craig!" Tweek said quickly, his eye twitching a couple times after.

"What's up with you today, Tweek?" Kenny asked.

"Gah! My dad won't, ah! He won't shut up about his, ngh, coffee shop!" he finally got out after a few tries.

"Driving you crazy?" Kyle concluded.

"Insane!" Tweek cried out.

"It's okay, Tweek," Marie laughed. "You're allowed to be here." Tweek did a fast nod, his whole form continuing to shake profusely.

"Well, we have the day to spend. First: Tweek, Craig. We've got to tell you something. Come back to my house and we can tell you there," Kyle said, glancing at Marie. She nodded slowly, and they all turned back to the Broflovski's home and began walking.

~000~

I needed to put Bebe, Token, Clyde, and Kevin SOMEWHERE in this fic. So I chose here, because I already put Damion and Pip at the lunchtables. Anybody else you think I should fit into here? I was thinking about putting Jimmy and Timmy in... It's on my to-do list! Aw dang. I keep forgeting to put Butters in. He's first! 8D

Reviews will make my day! Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6

Running for Her Life

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- Holy fuck. I'm actually updating in about less than a week! You guys are so awesome! I'm going to put Ike in this chapter, but Butters will have to wait until next chapter. Anyone else? The Goth Kids are going to be in a future chapter, so don't ask for them, m'kay? Enjoy!

Disclaimer: (I forgot about this for a while. xD) I DON'T OWN SOUTH PARK, BECAUSE IF I DID, IT WOULD SUCK. D:

~000~

"Come on, Marie. Sit up here," Kyle called, patting the empty spot on the bed next to him. Marie hesitated, but slowly made her way to the redhead's bed and sat down.

"Okay. We have something really important to tell you guys. Wendy already knows, because _someone_ has a huge mouth," Kyle said, looking accusingly at Kimberly, who rolled her eyes.

"Ngh! So much pressure!" Tweek squeaked, twitching slightly. Craig patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Would you like to tell them?" Kyle asked, looking over at Marie, who had her eyes shut tightly, her arms wrapped around herself. She felt sick to her stomach now that they were this close to talking about him.

"Marie?" Kimberly asked, a worried expression on her face. Marie took a deep breath, looking up and placing her hands on her lap. She took another breath to speak, but when she tried to talk, the only thing she got out was a yelp. She covered her mouth quickly, letting out a short apology.

"I'll tell them, Marie," Kenny said softly. Marie nodded quickly, pulling her knees up to her chest and covering her face.

Kenny began telling the two boys about the conflict with her father and how he was currently in the shadows, watching for the two of them.

"Jesus Christ!" Tweek shrieked when Kenny had finished, clutching two fistfuls his hair. Marie nodded slowly, looking up finally.

"That's what I wanted to say," she muttered darkly.

Kyle's bedroom door swung open, causing Marie to jump. Kyle's brother Ike stood there in a white tee-shirt with a Maple leaf on it.

"Ike! What the hell?" Kyle demanded, annoyed. Ike ignored him, walking straight in front of Marie. The younger boy looked amazed, like God himself was standing before him.

"Whoa. Is that all true?" he asked, studying her intently. She bit her lip, trying to avoid his gaze.

"Go away, Ike! Get out of my room!" Kyle said, shoving him out the door. Ike turned back to him, sticking his tongue out at the older boy. Kyle shut the door behind him, and returned to his bed, muttering things under his breath.

"How the hell do you guys get into these messes?" Craig asked after an awkward silence covered the room. He looked accusingly at Kyle, Cartman, Stan, and Kenny.

"So you're saying that Marie's dad is a psycho because of _us?"_ Cartman asked angrily, staring at the Tucker boy's face.

"No," Craig said, his face blank. "I just mean you guys always end up in a situation like this. I thought I explained this to you when we were sent to Peru."

"Hey! You were the one who ended up on an ancient cave wall and having lasers shoot out of your eyes," Stan said. Craig flipped him the bird.

"Oh come on, guys. This is not the time for you to have one of these stupid fights," Kimberly snapped, smacking Craig and Stan. She moved over to Wendy, speaking with her briefly for a moment before facing everyone again.

"Okay! Wendy and I'll take over for you boys tonight. Marie, you're staying with us," she said, looping arms with her and pulling her up.

"Wha? We're not going now are we?" Marie complained, unhooking her arm from Kimberly's. "I've had enough of moving in the last two days."

Kimberly shrugged. "No, I guess not. Let's go _somewhere_ though. I'm bored," she said, sitting back down next to Craig. She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then her face brightened.

"Wendy, you, and me. We're going to the mall," she said excitedly. Marie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I'm broke, and if I remember clearly, so are you," she stated firmly, looking up at Kimberly. The brunette pouted. She folded her hands in front of her face, making it look like she was praying.

"Window shopping then? Please?" Kimberly begged, pretending to fall to her knees. Craig rolled his eyes at her performance. Marie shook her head.

Kimberly narrowed her eyes, grabbing Kenny's and Stan's arm, dragging them down to her level. She looked back up at Marie, ignoring their protests.

"They can come too! Just please go with me!" Kimberly whined, jutting out her bottom lip.

Marie sighed again, but nodded, knowing that she would never be able to say no to her best friend's pleas. Kimberly squealed in happiness, got up and clapped joyfully.

"Let's go now before it gets busy," she said, eying Kyle's wall clock that said 1:45PM. She grabbed Marie's hand, dragging her out into the hallway. Kenny laughed when he saw Marie's face, which wore an expression of regret.

The window was still open, and something snapped outside. Kenny's head swiveled in the direction of the window. He looked around the cluster of evergreen trees, his eyes catching a foot sticking out behind a tree. Kenny swore under his breath.

"Kimberly," Kenny called sharply. Kimberly stopped dead in her tracks, and turned back to the boy in the orange parka.

"Keep her inside," Kenny said, flipping his hood up and putting his gloves on. He tried leaving out the door, only to be tugged backwards by Kyle.

"Where are you going?" Kyle asked. "If he's really outside, you'll be shot!"

"Fag," Cartman coughed into his elbow. Kyle sent an icy stare back at him.

"I'll be back," Kenny insisted smoothly, not facing the group behind him. Kyle let go after a moment of hesitation, and Kenny left the room. He walked down the steps and to the door.

He breathed in deeply for a moment, his eyes closed as he clutched the icy door-handle. He opened the door in a second and went outside.

There was a wind blowing today. It buffeted against Kenny's hood, so the blonde pulled the strings tighter to the hood covered his mouth.

He went around back, his friends watching him from the second story window. All except Marie, who was forced to stay away from the window.

Kenny trudged through the snow to look in the trees when he got an idea. If it was really him, he would only open fire onto Marie or Mysterion, right? Kenny deliberated for a moment, when he finally made a descision.

He took down his hood, his blonde hair showing through.

A gunshot sounded through the air, and Kenny fell to the ground, a bullet through his forehead.

"Oh my God! He killed Kenny!" Stan shouted.

"You bastard!" Kyle cried, his voice ending with a choked sob.

Kenny stared at the snow, his life bleeding out of him, thanking that he was the one dying, not Tweek or Kyle or Stan or Craig or... Marie. His eyes went blank as his heart stopped.

~000~

Kenny awoke screaming... again. He was breathing ragged, and he holding his head where the bullet punctured his skull. He was sweating in his parka, and he was taking huge gulps of air, trying to calm himself. He shut his eyes tightly until he was breathing more even.

_Great_, he thought,_ I wonder how I made it out of that one._ He was referring to how nobody would remember him dying, only him running away or disappearing. He figure it would be him running away, making him look like a wuss.

Kenny scowled as the memories of last night flooded back into him mind.

The blank white walls of purgatory were showed unto him last night. He stood there, wishing for someone to show up, for someone to take him away from all the nothingness.

He had blinked then, and he relived his last moments on Earth, all the pain included. Then the white-washed walls flickered once, and the ones to replace them were the dirty walls of his own bedroom. Kenny sighed, running his hand through his tousled hair.

It was like every night he died. Except sometimes he would see the bright light of heaven, or the dark pits of hell.

Kenny shuddered, but got out of his bed. He checked his watch- one he had stolen of course- and it read 12:45PM. He frowned, blinking sleep out of his eyes.

Nobody did anything Sunday afternoons except go to Tweek's coffee shop. Business was always slow, and Tweek had to work those days to get his allowance.

Kenny put on a fresh tee-shirt on underneath his parka, and pulled on a pair of jeans instead of his orange snow pants. He wrapped his scarf around his face, and pulled his hood up, throwing on his black converse sneakers- also stolen.

He left the house before his parents could notice he was home.

~000~

Marie stared at her cup of coffee, steam billowing from the cup. Yes, it smelled good, but Marie's stomach was in tight coils. One thing to eat or drink and the coils would snap loose and she would throw up.

"Ngh! I-Is it okay?" Tweek asked, and Marie looked up. He looked worried, so Marie put on a fake smile. She nodded, looking back down at her mug.

"Yes. Thank you, Tweek," she said sweetly. She went through the pocket and dug out a five dollar bill, holding it up to the blonde with the spiky hair.

"Oh! Oh, no thanks, M-Marie. I don't n-need it," Tweek stuttered, putting his hands up in front of his face. Marie frowned, but stuffed it in his shirt pocket anyway.

"Please, take it," Marie said, laughing.

Everyone heard the doorbell jingle as it always did when a new customer came in the door. Tweek turned, automatically welcoming the customer before recognizing the boy as Kenny.

"Kenny!" Stan welcomed, a stupid grin growing on his face. The boy in the orange parka smiled in greeting, noticing Marie's face held fear.

"What?" he asked, worry gnawing at his insides. Marie shook her head rather violently when she realized she was staring.

"Oh. Nothing. I had a really vivid nightmare last night, that's all," she said, turning back to her cup-o-Joe. Kenny wasn't convinced.

"What was it about?" Wendy asked. Marie didn't answer right away.

"... it's nothing to worry about. Really," Marie said, her face a blank mask.

Kenny frowned. He needed to find out what was wrong with her, no matter what.

~000~

I was watching Paranormal Activity while writing this. And I've gotta say, it was good. Pretty freaky in the end for my taste, but whatev's. xD

Reviews are what fuel me to update! Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

Running for Her Life- Chapter 7

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- Thank you to all that reviewed~ Hope you enjoy this next chapter!

~000~

Kenny shrugged and took a seat next to Marie, ordering a cup of coffee from the twitching boy in front of him. Tweek nodded, and scurried over to the coffee machine.

"Hey. What's up?" The blond asked. Marie looked down at her mug and wrapped her hands around it.

"Nothing much. Kimberly wants to go to the mall today since we didn't yesterday," Marie sighed. "Did you get home safely yesterday?" Kenny looked at her, confused.

"What?" he asked. Marie turned to face him.

"You know, you had to leave early yesterday. You said your sister needed your help with some homework and your brother was, quote, '_being too much of an ass to help her._'," she said, her face perplexed.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Rough night," Kenny coughed, looking away. That was new. Usually he just ran away. He shrugged off his findings before facing Marie again.

"So, what happened after I left?" he asked, thanking Tweek as his coffee was set in front of him. Marie shrugged.

"Kimberly called off the mall quest after you left, saying it wasn't going to be as much fun with you gone. Wendy and I just went over to her house then."

"Did anything happen there? You seem, uh, off today.." Kenny trailed off. Marie looked at him with a hard expression on her face.

"I had a nightmare, alright? Why does everyone want to know?" she asked. She took a sip of the coffee, wincing and jerking the cup away as she burned her tongue. Kenny waited a few seconds before responding.

"What was it about?" he asked, stirring some creamer into the cup in front of him. Marie didn't answer for a few moments.

She looked over to her other friends, then over to Tweek who was nervously serving a couple who had walked in before responding.

"Well, um, we were at Kyle's house. It was exactly like yesterday. Kimberly was about to take me shopping with Wendy, but then you heard something outside. You went outside to see who it was, but..." her voice quavered, so she stopped to breathe in deeply before continuing. "You got shot, and you... died. " She shut her eyes tightly after she uttered the last word of her sentence.

Kenny took a sharp intake of breath as he felt his eyes widen.

_She... knew? After all this fucking time of believing no one ever remembered, _she's_ the one who actually does? Yeah, the memories come to her in dreams, but why her?_

He questioned himself rapidly, trying to slow his heartbeat before he had a heart attack and died in front of her again. He stared at the floor, and he grasped his head as he tried to wrap his mind around all of this.

"Kenny? Are you alright?" Kyle asked suddenly, sending him flying back to reality. Marie was staring at him, a horrified expression on her face as the other gathered around her.

The blonde McCormick shook his head, chasing away all his thoughts that were invading his mind. He looked back up at everyone, nodding.

"Yeah. Sorry. My folks thought I had taken their booze money last night. They weren't very merciful. Anyway, I had a dizzy spell. I'll be fine," he lied easily, taking a sip of coffee.

"You sure you'll be alright? As soon as Tweek gets off work, Johnson's forcing us to go to the mall with her," Craig said, getting punched in the arm by Kimberly.

Kenny nodded again, this time looking at Marie out of the corner of his eye.

"You sure we should take her to such a public place?" he asked, doubt coloring his tone. Kimberly pursed her lips and thought for a moment, but threw an arm around Marie's neck after the moment of silence.

"Yeah. Besides, if the big bad wolf is there, he'll have to go through me first," she said, laughing a bit. Marie laughed humorlessly, looking at the counter. Kenny frowned, crossing his arms.

"And what about school tomorrow? What should we do about that?" he asked. The small group fell into silence and deep thought.

Suddenly Stan snapped his fingers and everyone turned their attention to him.

"I know," he said. "They might not accept having her stay over tonight, but I know who can watch her tomorrow during school."

"Who?" Wendy asked. Stan grinned, but shrugged.

"I'll call them when we're at the mall. If it's alright with them I'll tell you."

Everyone sighed in disappointment except Stan, who just laughed.

"Than what about tonight? Who's gonna watch her tonight?" Kyle asked. Another long silence filled the room before Tweek raised a shaking hand. All the teens turned their attention to the boy.

"Won't you think this is too much pressure?" Stan asked. Tweek twitched.

"Nah. He can handle it," Craig said, flipping off Cartman when, yet again, he coughed the word "fag" into his elbow rather loudly.

"Y-Yes. I will be able to handle it... I hope..." Tweek said, looking down and fiddling with his apron's pocket. Kimberly sighed.

"I'm coming over then. Just to make sure nobody gets hurt," she said assertively, crossing her arms. Marie laughed again, this time dryly.

"I can't believe everyone wants to make sure a murderous bastard's daughter doesn't get killed along with a superhero," she said, weaving her fingers through her hair and leaning into the counter-top. A gasp was heard behind the small group.

"Whoa! Really, Marie?" the high pitched voice asked. Marie spun around to see Leopold "Butters" Stotch, staring with wide eyes.

"Butters? When the hell did you get here?" Cartman asked, facing the boy. Butters blinked a couple of times, his eyes darting all over the ground while playing with a couple of barrettes that were in his hair before answering.

"Uh, I was here the whole time. You guys just didn't see me..." he said, fidgeting some more.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Butters," Marie said, getting off her bar stool to stand.

"It's alright. You guys do it all the time. I don't mind, because I have Phillip and Damien to wait for anyway. I just wanted to know if the whole thing with your father is true," the boy said, his large blue eyes innocent and questioning.

Marie nodded, hearing Stan whisper, "Who's Phillip?"

"The British kid," Wendy hissed. "He's only been in our class for the past seven years."

"Well I'm sorry," Stan said, pouting slightly. Kimberly shushed them.

"Well..." Marie stammered, her fingers drumming on her thigh as she fought for words. "... yes. It's all true. He is coming after me. And he wants me dead." She said her last statement bitterly.

Butter's eyes had widened considerably when Marie confirmed her dilemma. Suddenly, he threw his arms around her, buried his head into her chest, and wailed like a child. Marie jumped, her face reddening as she noticed the boy sobbing into her shirt, but enfolded her arms around him anyway, trying to get him to stop crying.

Kenny felt a twinge of jealousy toward the other blonde boy. He grumbled silently and faced his coffee again. He took a large gulp, downing it quickly before facing the other teens again.

Marie had gotten Butters off her shirt, but he was still sniffling, trying not to burst into tears again. His hair clips were disheveled, so Marie reached up to fix them for the boy gently. When they were in place again, Butters thanked her while he rubbed the leftover tears out of his eyes with his coat sleeve. Marie smiled, patting his head.

Kenny scowled out of envy again, this time catching the eye of Kyle, who rose and eyebrow and smirked. The parka-wearer avoided the red-head's gaze, pulling his hood up and pulling the drawstrings tight so only his eyes were visible like he did when he was a child.

"Hmm? Kenny? Are you cold?" Marie said, looking back at him. Kenny shook his head, letting out a muffled "no". Marie stared a second longer before turning back to Butters.

"When were Pip and Damien supposed to show up?" Marie asked gently before hearing a jingle as the front door to the coffee shop opened. In walked the two boys she had just asked about, followed by Jimmy and Timmy. Butters waved a quick goodbye before joining his friends by the door.

~000~

"Well," Kimberly asked boisterously, "We going to the mall or what?"

Tweek had finally gotten off of work at about 2:30, and Kimberly was bouncing excitedly. Marie and a couple of others groaned, but nodded. _She only wants to know who Stan thought of to keep an eye on me_, Marie thought, frowning.

She pulled her scarf up over her mouth and nose, shutting her eyes when the wind blew in her face.

"Why the _fuck_ are we _walking?_" Cartman complained shrilly. He had slimmed down a bit since he had gotten into high-school, but he still had his baby-fat, and walking wasn't his most favorite thing to do in the world. Kimberly glanced back over her shoulder, a guilty expression on her face.

"I may have gotten in trouble with my folks about some stuff and gotten my car taken away," she said, looking back to the front. Marie sighed but smiled.

"How did you get in trouble?" Cartman asked. Kimberly cleared her throat, glancing back over her shoulder for a split second, looking back at Eric before looking at Craig, and looking forward again.

"Uh. I may have gotten caught with Craig in my room..." Kimberly said, her voice trailing off.

It took a second for Cartman to understand. When it finally registered, he began laughing hysterically. Tweek let out a sound of surprise when Cartman used him as a pillar of support to lean on before he collapsed laughing so hard.

Kimberly puffed out her cheeks, blushing. She stopped and spun around, stomping toward Eric. She snapped her fist outward, and it collided with the boy's jaw.

He let out a squeal of pain before hitting the ground. Kimberly turned back around, steaming. She grabbed Marie's and Craig's hands and dragged them forward toward the mall, the rest following close behind.

"OW! That hurt, bitch!" Cartman yelled, sitting up and holding his bruised face.

"Good, you fucking bastard!" she yelled back, speeding up.

It was true to say that the small group got the the mall more quickly without Cartman's constant complaining.

~000~

The teens crowded around a table in the food court, all munching on soft pretzels and sipping lemonade. All eyes were on Stan, who had dialed the number of the mystery man whom he had said would be the one most likely to look after Marie during school.

"Hey, Dylan. It's Raven," Stan said after a moment. Kyle looked confused. He remembered that name from somewhere... just where?

"We have someone to look after tomorrow, but we have class. Gonna cut with Evan and Henrietta tomorrow? ….. mm-hmm... So Georgie's gonna cut too? Can you look after our friend? ...alright. I'll tell her. Thanks. I owe you one."

Stan shut the phone, grinning. He nodded toward Marie.

"You've got some babysitters," he said. Marie tilted her head to the side, a questioning look written all over her face.

"They say to wear some black, but other than that, they don't care."

"Who's looking after her?" Kyle asked, anxious. Stan looked over at his best friend, rolling his eyes at his friend's ignorance.

"Dylan, Evan, Henrietta, and Georgie. You know, the Goth Kids."

~000~

Yayyyy... Goth Kids are gonna be in the next chappie... 8DDD

Reviews are always nice. :3


	8. Chapter 8

Running for her Life- Chapter Eight

A South Park fanfiction

A/N- I'm updating so soon, eh? Only because My BFF decided to read this Fic and really liked it~ and I'm updating because I'm probably not going to update for a week or two. Sorry, but I have exams on Saturday, and I have to clean my house all during this week, AND I have to practice doing this thing 'cause I'm moving on to this Forensics Tournament, and just... GAH. I figured I should update before I implode from all the work I have to do. Enjoy!

NOTE: This chapter gets a little dark and gory. Sorry if I offend anyone.

~000~

Marie played with the black headband that sat in her hair as she waited with Stan for the Goth Kids.

Kimberly had lied about being broke, and she had bought Marie a long black dress, some accessories, and black make-up, much to Marie's discontent.

Stan had applied the eye make-up for her, also warning her that the Goth Kids might get her to try smoking. He had tried once, but had quit after he had stopped hanging out with them all time. Marie had assured him that she wouldn't, and had grudgingly put on the lipstick herself.

Marie sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. Stan looked up from his texting.

"Cold?" he asked simply. Marie shook her head.

"You sure?" he asked. She nodded. Stan sighed.

"Look. Don't be so scared. They're actually not scary. All they do is write poetry, smoke, and drink coffee while complaining about their lives," he said finally.

"Hey, shut the fuck up, Raven," a voice snapped. Marie looked up, seeing the four infamous Goth Kids standing in front of her.

The girl, Henrietta, hadn't changed very much besides for loosing some weight. Dylan's hair had grown out another couple inches, and he still hadn't dyed his bright red roots back to black. Evan was still the tallest, a scowl etched on his pale face. Georgie, the youngest, took drag on his cigarette before putting it under his boot and squashing it.

Henrietta studied Marie briefly before shoving a cigarette in the blond's mouth.

"Hey," Stan interjected before Dylan cut him off.

"She doesn't have to smoke it. Jeez," he said, rolling his eyes and flipping his bangs out of his face. Stan scowled, but turned to Marie.

"You'll be alright?" he asked, removing the cigarette from her mouth. Marie nodded, taking the cigarette back and putting it between her lips. She rolled her eyes when Stan gave her a look.

"Not gonna smoke," she said around the cancer stick.

"Whatever. I've gotta get to school. See you later!" Stan said before turning around and leaving the street corner. Marie turned back to the Goth Kids, who lit new cigarettes. Georgie muttered something about "Nazi conformist cheerleaders" after inhaling on his.

"What's your name?" Evan asked, holding the cig between two fingers as he turned to her.

"Marie," the girl answered.

"Come on. We're going to Henrietta's today," Dylan said, motioning for Marie to follow the pack which was already walking away. Marie nodded and joined them quickly as they left the corner.

When they finally got to the other girl's house, they went inside and went to upstairs to Henrietta's room, shutting the door behind them.

"So you're the chick who's dad wants you dead?" Dylan asked, turning on some music before retreating to the bed and sitting there. Marie scowled, but nodded as she sat down on the black carpeting.

"He's just another fucking conformist asshole," Henrietta said, taking a drag on her cancer stick. "Just like both of my parents." The other three agreed quietly, nodding. Marie thought for a moment before nodding too.

"He's never really even talked to me. He's always just left me to wallow in the pain of the beatings he gave me, and drowning in his deep hatred for the world and for me. I just wanted it all to stop." she said, staring at a flame dance on a deep purple candle next to her.

"Whoa. That makes some deep poetry," Dylan said while flipping his bangs and handing her a black notebook. Marie stared at it, but took it from the other boy.

"Write all your feelings into this and make poetry. You're really good," Evan said. "Henrietta. You still have that one you shared with Raven all those years ago? Just to show her how it's done before she starts writing about love or some shit?" The female goth nodded and moved to her dresser, grabbing another black notebook before returning to her place at the carpet. She opened her mouth and words flowed easily off her tongue.

_Shallow life._

_Drowning alone, I gasp for air._

_Coldness creeps over pale skin._

_There is sadness so deep, it pulls me down._

_Happiness dies in the deep, dark sea._

Henrietta stopped speaking as she finished her poem, looking up at the rest of the people huddled in her room. Marie looked at the ground, her face deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about, Blondie?" Evan asked, causing Marie to look up.

"Nothing anybody would want to know. My mind is pretty fucked up," she said monotonously. She looked back down, twirling the unlit cigarette around in her fingers.

"Write it down in poetry," Georgie said suddenly. "All of us are pretty fucked up in the eyes of the conformist society."

Marie nodded slowly, and picked up the notebook before starting to write. The Goth Kids waited patiently for her to finish, inhaling on their cigs every so often.

Marie, after fifteen minutes, finally put down her pen and she looked up. Evan motioned her to read it, so Marie picked it up and started.

_I close my eyes as he comes after me, pain exploding behind my eyes._

_The air is stagnant, and I feel the blood dripping down my arm as the cut widens._

_I scream as the knife tears at my flesh._

_He doesn't care. _

_He wants to hear me scream for him to make it stop. _

_No one in the entire universe comes to my aid as he laughs when he bangs my head against the wall, when he hits me._

_Why?_

_I'm screaming loud enough, aren't I?_

_Somebody help, before he kills me. Please._

_I'm screaming into empty air. _

_No one comes to help, as I bleed into the snow._

_I shut my eyes as I hear him come before me with the gun._

_He pulls the trigger._

_And I say goodbye._

Marie stopped reading and looked up from the book. The Goth Kids were staring.

"Holy shit," Henrietta said, her eyes wide. "That fucking blew my mind."

"He really did that to you? Well, not the whole thing with the gun, but..." Georgie asked.

Marie looked down, but nodded, pulling up her left sleeve. A thin, white scar was seen.

"Fuck," Dylan breathed. "Your dad is... just... a sadistic dick." Marie nodded.

"You've got guts, Blondie," Evan said, nodding. "To stand up to someone like that." Marie continued being silent.

"Nobody else knows about that," she finally said after a minute. "Please don't tell anyone. Especially Kenny." The Goth Kids nodded, then put out their dead cigarettes and lit new ones.

"No problem," Dylan said.

~000~

Kenny sat as his desk, tapping his pencil while he leaned on his arm, watching the clock tick.

Five more minutes.

_Tick...Tick...Tick...Tick..._

Four more minutes until he could leave this shit-hole known as school and pick Marie up.

Kenny sighed in exasperation as the teacher began a new topic and assigned homework. He glanced back up at the clock.

Three more minutes.

Someone threw something at the back of his head and it hit him, falling and landing in his hood. Kenny looked back to see Tweek squeak and motion to Craig, who motioned to Kimberly. She grinned and waved, pointing to her watch and mouthing, _Two more minutes!_

Kenny nodded, smirking as he grabbed the note out of his hood and threw it at Stan, who frowned as it hit him in the back of his head.

Kenny pointed to Wendy, and Stan caught on, doing exactly what Kenny and Kimberly wanted him to do, smacking the black-haired girl in the arm with the note. She jumped and glared at Stan, who pointed at Kenny, his other hand up in surrender.

She looked over to the boy in the orange parka, who held up his watch.

One more minute.

Wendy grinned and giggled, beginning to pack up her things before the bell rang.

Times up.

The bell rang, sending Kenny flying out the door before a whole bunch of others even had time to stand up. Marie, Kimberly, Stan, Kyle, Tweek, and Craig followed, running after the eager blonde before he hurt someone.

"Wait up, McCormick! Don't forget we have to walk!" Wendy shouted. Kenny stopped, gasping for breath.

"What got you so excited?" Kimberly asked in-between gasps.

"I just hope the Goth Kids haven't twisted any of her thoughts into making her believe we're all Nazi conformist cheerleaders," Kenny said, quoting the littlest Goth.

"Alright. We can take my car," Kyle said after a moment. Kenny's and Kimberly's face brightened. Kyle laughed, leading the group away from the classrooms as they heeded toward the car.

~000~

NYAHAH. IT'S DONE. I doubt the poetry was even poetry, but fuck that. Sorry if the Goths were OOC.

Reviews are welcome! 8D


	9. Chapter 9

Running for Her Life- Chapter 9

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- Hello there, friends! I'm back! This is getting pre-etty dark now. It'll probs be darker from now on, though. Just thought I should tells chu before you start reading.

~000~

After everyone- except Cartman, who had detention- piled into Kyle's car, the red-head pulled away from the school and drove to the corner Stan had dropped Marie off at. When he found the curb empty of any black dressed teenagers, Kyle pulled over.

"Alright, where'd they go, Stan?" Kimberly asked, crossing her arms. Stan looked thoughtful for a moment before his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and opened the new text he had gotten in one swift motion. Stanley took a moment to reply to the text before answering the curly haired brunette.

"They went to Henrietta's place," he said. Stan put his phone back in his pocket before looking at Kyle. The red-head looked flustered as he gripped the steering wheel.

"Uh," Kyle stammered, "Where's that?" Stan sighed.

"Get out of the driver's side. I'll drive for you," he said, his statement more of a command than an offer. His best friend obeyed meekly, moving to the backseat to sit next to Kimberly.

"I swear, if you mess up this car..." Kyle began in a low voice. He never got to finish because the car shot forward and around the corner.

It took about three minutes for them to get to the female Goth's house. Stan had broken the speed limit getting there, because it would have taken a normal driver five to seven minutes to reach the household. Tweek was flipping out, clutching handfuls of his hair while he put his head in between his legs. Craig and Kimberly were sprawled in a corner, trying to untangle themselves as Wendy laughed in the passenger's seat. Kyle unlocked his death grip on the seat-belt that had his in his seat and started adjusting his hat that had started to fall off his head.

"Damn it, Dude. Remind me never to let you drive my car _ever again,_" the Brofvloski boy mumbled, his face slightly red in embarrassment. Stan started laughing along with Wendy, when suddenly there was a knock at the window.

Kyle blinked and shook his head quickly before turning to the window to see Marie, one arm waving, her other arm wrapped around herself, smiled weakly. Kenny opened the door and let her in the car, Kyle scooting over to let her have a seat.

"T-Thanks," she said graciously, "It's r-really cold outside."

Kenny shrugged, saying something that was muffled by his scarf that sounded like, "No problem." Marie reached from the backseat of the car to the middle section of seats to pat Tweek gently on the shoulder. He let out a cry of surprise and looked back over his shoulder, relaxing a bit when he saw it was only Marie who was touching him.

"You okay?" she asked, smiling. Tweek pointed a trembling finger at Stan accusingly.

"Ngh! He drives like a, gah! A madman!" he said, his eye twitching slightly. Marie laughed, nodding. Laughter broke out in the car, but then it stopped as something hit the window.

Tweek shrieked, but then moved over to the window to see what it was. Identifying the liquid that was now running down the side of the car, he opened the door.

"Hey!" he yelled at the Goth Kids. "That, ngh! That was a waste of good coffee!"

"Get off our street, Raven! Take Blondie and the rest of those damn conformists home!" Evan shouted, threatening them with another paper cup filled to the brim with black coffee.

"Close the door, Tweekers," Craig said, buckling himself in. Tweek did as he was told and braced himself again for when the car surged forward.

"Where are we going?" Wendy asked, sitting perfectly normally like this was not like a high-speed chase. Stan shrugged, but kept his eyes on the road ahead of him.

"Damn it, Stan! Slow the fuck down!" Kyle shouted, but was flung to the other side of the car as Stan took a right turn. Marie fell on top of him, followed by Kimberly. Craig stayed securely in place, compliments to his seat-belt.

"Sorry!" Marie squeaked, a furious blush forming on her face.

Kimberly started giggling hysterically, making it a game. Whenever they made a left, she'd scream, "LEFT!", smacking into Craig, and yelling "RIGHT!" when they made a right turn, falling onto Marie and Kyle. By the time they made it to Stan's house, the other teens in Kyle's car were beginning to question the girl's insanity.

They got out of the car, Kyle groaning about the coffee stain on the side door.

"My mom's gonna kill me," he whined. Stan sighed and patted his friend's shoulder as her mourned over his car's door.

They all went inside eventually, sitting around in Stan's room.

"So," Craig said once everyone was in the Marsh's bedroom. "We have a problem tonight."

Kenny's eyes flickered over to the raven-haired boy. "Hmm?" Marie asked, squeezing Kenny's hand when she noticed he was a little tense after Craig said anything.

"Ngh! Y-Yeah. Who's gonna watch Marie tonight?" Tweek asked quickly, trying to contain his jittery hands. Kimberly nodded.

"My parents'll suspect something if I'm over at someone's or someone's over at my house..." she added miserably. Everyone else agreed quietly.

"You know how Butters' folks are. And _no one_, and I repeat,_ NO ONE,_ will go to Bebe for help," Wendy hissed, crossing her arms. Silence enveloped the room like a blanket.

Kenny deliberated for a moment before speaking. "Well, I guess I'll just have to look after her."

Craig groaned. "I'm not up for another night as Mysterion, McCormick." That reminded Marie of something.

"Craig? Why _do _you sometimes cover for Kenny as Mysterion?" she asked, curiosity in her voice. Craig shrugged, and sat back against the wall.

"I was the first one he asked. It was never too much trouble... well, not until now," He said bitterly. Marie looked down in shame, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks.

"It's my fault..." she whispered, her fists clenched. Craig looked down at her.

"No," he said slowly, not wanting to see anyone burst into tears, "It's not."

Marie nodded again, this time more forcefully. She looked up, her neon green eyes intense.

"Yeah, it is. If I was_ never born_, you guys wouldn't be risking your lives for me," she said angrily. Kenny winced visibly, catching the eyes of Kyle and Stan. Marie wasn't paying attention. She stood up, her fists clenched so tight her fingernails were digging into her palms.

"My asshole of a father wouldn't have to deal with having a sad excuse for a daughter. One who isn't very smart, or pretty, or talented. He could drink as much alcohol as he wanted; do as much crank, glass, and heroin as he wanted; all without worrying about having a daughter he needed to abuse every night. No one to slice, hit, or murder..." she trailed off when her voice began to tremble.

Kenny had looked away, the scowl on his face ever growing while she ranted. Marie felt like throwing up. But she wasn't done yet.

"And especially..." she clenched her teeth before continuing, "No one to rape."

Kenny's eyes flew to the girl, his eyes widening with terror. He stumbled backwards somewhat, his back becoming firmly pressed against the wall. Kimberly let out a wail of fear and her eyes widened too, her hands slapping over her mouth.

"H-he didn't. He wouldn't..." she squeaked, but Marie only nodded slowly, a permanent frown on her face. Tears pricked in the corners of Marie's eyes, but she blinked them away furiously.

Silence and tension in the air was thick, growing thicker by the minute, until Kenneth McCormick shattered it with eight small words.

"That son of a bitch. I'll kill him," Kenny muttered darkly, his teeth clenched. He stood up, but Marie spun around on her heels, looking up at him.

"Why would you care? This is between me and him, and no one else. I don't want anyone else dying except for me," she said, her brow furrowed. Kenny glared at the wall.

"Who was caught with you at school? I think he used the term, "feeling lucky", didn't he?" he said thickly, venom woven into his words. Marie turned the a shade of a ripe strawberry.

"T-That was different!"she stammered. Kyle sighed.

"Just tell her, Ken," Stan said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Now it was Kenny's turn to blush. The blonde's cheeks reddened considerably.

"I-I don't have anything to tell her!" He stuttered, tripping over his words. He turned back to Marie, "And I'm going to watch you tonight. It works out anyway. My family will be away." Marie glared at him, and he glared at her, silently arguing. After what seemed to be hours to the others, Marie broke her glare and stomped out of the room.

"Fine!" she shouted, slamming the door. After that, Kenny let out a yell, punching the wall beside him. He didn't cause any damage though, like he had hoped.

"Dude, Kenny, chill," Stan said anxiously, moving to his friend's side. Kenny let his arm drop and he fell to his knees.

"He... _raped _her..." he whispered, resting his forehead against the cold wall. "How could he do that? To his own daughter?" Kenny felt like punching something while he screamed his lungs out, but he kept it in as he boiled.

"Kenny..." Kyle trailed off softly, not knowing what to say.

Suddenly, Craig laughed. Kenny looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing.

"You love her," the Tucker boy said, grinning wickedly. Kenny faced the wall again, saying nothing. Craig laughed again. "That's all the proof I need."

"Ken, if you thought it was a secret, you are a _moron,_" Kimberly said, a smug look on her face. "We know you love being with her." Kenny stayed silent for a few minutes more, before he threw his head back and laughed quite insanely.

"Yeah, well it's too bad she hates me for wanting to save her life, huh?" he said harshly, maneuvering himself so he sat with his legs crossed before looking back down again.

"Maybe I should just keep pretending she might even like me a little and go back to imagining myself with the models from Playboy," Kenny mttered, propping his head up on his arm. No one answered him. Soon Marie returned to the room, passing Kenny without a glance.

The boy scowled.

"Well, we might as well go now, shouldn't we Kenny?" she asked, a tense atmosphere around her. Kenny pulled his hood up and muttered an agreement.

After Marie had hugged Kimberly and Wendy goodbye, she brushed past Kenny swiftly. The boy studied the floor in dejection, but followed the girl closely behind. She didn't speak to him the whole way to him home.

~000~

As they neared the small green abode, Marie stopped as shouting was heard. Kenny groaned as he identified the voices as his parents, but he grabbed Marie's hand, leading her to his home.

Stewart and Carol McCormick were dressed up to go out, but they were eye to eye, hollering at each other quite loudly when Kenny and Marie entered the home. Carol stopped immediately when she spotted Kenny's orange coat.

"Oh hey, Ken," she said sweetly, proving to her son that she hadn't had as much to drink as his father. "Is that your girlfriend?"

Kenny shook his head.

"No, she just needs a place to stay," he said, his voice muffled. Carol nodded and began yelling at her husband again. Kenny sort of pushed Marie through the one-floor house into his room before shutting the door and locking it.

He sighed as the yelling subsided after a bit and a door closing was heard. He pulled his hood down in the safety of his room and began taking his coat off. He opened his closet and placed it on a coat hanger before turning back to Marie, who was sitting awkwardly on the edge of his bed.

Kenny looked down, stuffing his hands in his jeans, and thinking for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.

"Hey, Marie?" he asked hesitantly. The girl looked at him, her green eyes unblinking.

"I," he ducked his head and rubbed his neck before continuing. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier... I was just a little pissed at the world." He waited a couple seconds to hear a response for the other blonde, but nothing was heard. He looked up to see Marie studying his floor, wearing a pained expression.

"S'okay," she said. "It looked like all of you were."

They both laughed nervously, and Kenny took the opportunity to cross his room and sit on the bed next to her. Halfway there though, he froze as the sound of a door being opened was heared.

Marie snapped to attention, her hands balling up into tight fists. Kenny thought for a second, and moving quickly, he went to the closet and went through his drawers. He walked back out, carrying his Mysterion costume.

"Stay here," he ordered quietly. Marie nodded, her eyes huge. Kenny nodded back to her before moving out into the hallway.

"Anybody home?" he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. There was no answer.

Kenny turned around, trying to see if anyone was down on the other side of the hallway, his sharp eyes running back and forth over the dirty, empty walls of his home. Seeing nothing, he relaxed a bit.

Suddenly, something hit the blonde in the back of the neck and the boy crumpled, falling unconscious. He fell to the floor with a thud.

A man towered above Kenny, a grin growing on his face as he pulled out a knife. He slowly crept toward the bedroom and shut off the lights. The girl's scream that sounded next could be heard throughout the house.

~000~

CLIFFHANGER! DUN DUN DUUUUUN! I didn't want to do it, but his chapter was getting a little long... Sorry! I'll try to update Friday if I can!

Reviews make me write faster! Please? Okay, I'll make you a promise. If I can get three more reviews by Friday morning, I promise I'll update Friday night, no questions. If not, you guyz will have to wait until I actually can! Sorry!


	10. Chapter 10

Running for Her Life- Chapter 10

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- Hi there. I'm updating! Before I move on to the story though, I would like to make some things clear.

This is my first time writing an rape/abuse story, so I'm not very good at it. I now know that Marie never showed any symptoms to being abused or raped. I didn't think of that, because I'm just an amateur at writing. I simply wrote this fanfic because I enjoy writing.

I apologize for having the characters seem OOC. I write the characters as teenagers, and I believe they're personalities will have changed _somewhat_ since they were in fourth grade.

If Marie seems Mary-Sueish, can you please tell me why you believe she is? I've taken a test for her and it said she was a healthy character. I'm also not so good when it comes to defining whether a character is a Mary-Sue or not, so I'm useless. If you could help me that would be great. ^^

Okay! Thanks again for reading! Hope you enjoy~ :)

~000~

Kenny's head was pounding. He tried opening his eyes, trying to sit up as he did.

_What the fuck was that?_ he wondered stiffly. He got to his feet, and he clutched his head when all the memories from before suddenly pulsed through his brain. His eyes shot open.

He stayed silent for a moment, trying to hear anything from the confines of his small house. His heart skipped a beat when he heard whimpering. It sounded like Marie was saying something over and over again.

"Please... please..." she pleaded. A sharp intake of breath was heard and a wail echoed through the house. Kenny cringed, feelings beginning to well up from inside him.

The boy thought for a moment, his thoughts snapping onto his dad's gun. It was only in his parent's bedroom. He could use it for self defense... His thoughts and his conscience began battling, each trying to prove something about using the gun.

_No. You aren't about to take someone's life._

**But he hurt her...**

_Do you really want to stoop to his level, killing simply out of hate?_

**Shut up. We're running out of time!**

… Kenny's conscience was silent.

The boy shook his head violently before he looked down. The green letter "M" flashed for the world to see, reaching Kenny's eyes. He blinked and stared, finally understanding.

_Do heroes shoot people out of hate? Are you a hero? But if heroes do need a gun, it's to protect someone else._

Kenny smirked and nodded to himself, and bent down to grab his costume, dashing to his parent's bedroom as quietly as he could to retrieve his father's gun. He undressed as he ran, stopping quickly to slip on the jumpsuit and underwear. He put the cloak and his face-mask on, pulling the hood up as he continued to run to the bedside.

He pulled the mattress up and picked up the gun gently, slinging in his belt for easy access. He went out into the hallway as quietly as he could, walking toward his bedroom door. He stopped at the entrance, listening for any sounds. Hearing nothing, he kicked the door open.

The room was empty. Mysterion entered cautiously, looking around every corner.

"Marie?" he whispered, calling for the girl.

"Run," moaned someone behind him. A shriek was heard immediately after, so he spun around, facing whoever was behind him.

Marie's father stood with a knife to his daughter's stomach. He was obviously intoxicated, because he swayed when stood, and when he spoke, his words were slurred.

"Got'cha," he laughed harshly. He shut the door, locking it behind him.

Marie looked empty. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, her face and lips bruised. One eye was swelling, and her bottom lip was split and bleeding.

Mysterion searched her eyes for some sort of hope that she would not be broken, but nothing was in the empty eyes. She had given up completely.

"You think you can fool me? Keep her hidden away while you keep her safe?" He chortled, bringing the knife up to the blonde female's cheek. He pressed it onto her skin, a ruby-red drop of blood welling up and running down her cheek.

Marie squealed in pain, trying to wriggle out of her father's grasp. He moved the blade to her neck and she stopped moving immediately.

"Good girl," he rumbled, smiling viciously. He moved the knife back down to her stomach again, moving his glazed glare up to watch Mysterion again.

"What do you see in this girl, anyway? She's nothing special," Mr. Carter asked, a half-lidded gaze watching his every movement.

Mysterion looked at Marie, and she gazed back. Her gaze showed pure agony.

"She's... one of my best friends," Mysterion said quietly. Happiness flickered in her eyes for a moment, but then left as her father doubled over in laughter.

"Pfft. She's your best friend? Haha! That's a laugh. Nobody would risk their lives for their best friend," he said. Suddenly a coughing fit crossed him. As he straightened himself out, he looked back up at the boy, amusement showing in his eyes.

"Tell me the real reason your helping this one out. If not, I'll kill her now," he said, an edge in his voice. He placed the knife pointed inward toward Marie's stomach. Mysterion's eyes widened.

"No. Don't," he told him hoarsely. He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the knife.

"Tell me," Marie's father ordered. Mysterion was silent, trying to formulate an answer.

Marie let out a strangled cry of pain when the tip of the blade poked at the skin of her stomach. Mysterion looked up in alarm, while Marie's father grinned sadistically.

"I... I really like her," Mysterion confessed after one last moment of silence.

Mr. Carter's grin disappeared for a moment, confusion clear in his clouded eyes. But then it was gone. His grin resurface, and the confusion melted and turned into vicious murder.

"Wrong answer," he said in a sing-song kind of voice. Then he shoved her blade fully into his daughter's stomach.

Marie screamed, thrashing in her father's arms.

Mysterion had grabbed the gun out of his belt and pointed it directly at the man. His hands were shaking, and he couldn't get a steady aim.

Marie's struggling was getting weaker and weaker as blood poured our of the wound in her side. Marie's father removed the blade and let Marie fall to the floor beside him. He looked over at Mysterion, finally noticing the gun in the boys hands. He smirked.

"You gonna shoot me, boy?" he mocked. "You can't even get a clear shot." Mysterion felt the rage building up inside him, and he glared at Mr. Carter with everything inside him. He hadn't felt this angry in a while. Hell, the last time was when he had screamed at Cthulhu to bring his friends back.

Mysterion pulled the trigger, putting all his rage behind it.

Mr. Carter gagged, and looked down at his chest, shaking. A splotch of red blossomed underneath his shirt, growing wider by the second. He fell backards, his eyes going glassy.

Mysterion panted for a few moments. Suddenly he flung the gun away from himself and ran over to Marie's side.

She was still breathing, but only barely.

"Marie?" he asked, cautiously, wanting to see if she was still awake. She stirred a little, and when she spoke, it sounded like she had trouble talking and breathing.

"Moron," she gasped softly, "Why didn't you run?"

Mysterion smiled at her. "Didn't you hear before? I really like you, Marie."

The female blonde grew silent. Mysterion's smile fell and he moved his head closer to her face to see if she was still breathing.

"Marie?" he asked, anxiety growing. She didn't answer.

Mysterion left the room and grabbed his family's phone, dialing the paramedics.

~000~

Kimberly stirred in her sleep. She opened her eyes, sitting and yawning. Looking over at the clock and reading 9:05, she shrugged. Looks like she was cutting school today.

She reached over and grabbed her phone, turning it on.

Her suspicions arose when she saw there was one new voice-mail message. No one left voice-mail messages for her unless... it was either Kenny or Marie. She shook of her worry with a smile and listened to it quietly.

Her expression turned to horror as she listened. The phone slid from her grasp and plopped onto the bed beside her.

"Marie? Got... hurt?" she whispered. She stayed still for a minute more before grabbing her phone roughly and dialing Craig Tucker's number. She punched in the call button and waited a few moments before the boy picked up.

"Hello? Kimberly?" he asked.

"Craig! Marie's hurt! She was sent to the hospital really late last night, and I don't know if she's alright or not!" Kimbery said hysterically. She started breathing heavily, but got up and started getting dressed. "I'm going to the hospital. I need to see if Marie's alright-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Craig interrupted. "Who told you this? Besides, you don't have a car."

"I know I don't have a car. I'm going to walk. And Kenny called late last night. He didn't explain why she's hurt, but I can give a pretty good guess," Kimberly said seriously.

Craig was silent on the other line. He stayed quiet for a moment more before speaking. "I'll be there to pick you up in ten minutes. Stay there." Then he hung up.

"Dammit, Craig!" She yelled into the empty line. "I can't wait ten fucking minutes!" She slammed her phone down on top of her bed, and it bounced slightly.

She scowled, putting on some fresh clothes, grabbing her boots and slipping them on before grabbing her phone and stomping down the steps. She went into the bathroom, beginning to tame her wild curly tangles with a brush, brushing her teeth, and applying eyeliner and mascara. Noticing this only took her about seven minutes, she moved to the front hall and put on her white pea-coat and her black fingerless gloves.

Hearing a car horn honk outside, Kimberly looked out a window to see Craig's car running in the street. She grabbed her keys and went out the front door, rushing to the passenger side of the door.

"Hey, Craig," she said quickly. " To Hell's Pass Hospital we go."

The Tucker boy nodded, and drove forward toward the hospital.

~000~

Kimberly burst into the hospital, stomping up to the nurse behind the desk.

"Where's Marie Carter's room?" she asked assertively. The nurse, an extremely old woman, glared at her behind a pair of glasses.

"She's not fit for visitors yet," the nurse said as calmly as she could. "You have to leave now."

"What are you talking about? How badly was she hurt?" Kimberly exclaimed, slapping her hands on the counter.

"I cannot say anything unless you're a family member. If you absolutely _need _to see her, you can wait in the waiting room," the nurse replied icily.

"But-" Kimberly began, but she was dragged off by Craig before anything could get ugly.

The walked to the waiting room, noticing a boy in an orange parka sleeping on the couch. His arm was hanging off the side, his other arm lying on the back of it. He was taller than the couch was long, because his right leg dangled messily of of the end. A porno was lying over his face, preventing light from reaching his eyes.

"Kenny!" Kimberly cried, rushing over to him. He stirred, moving the dirty magazine halfway from his face. He looked up at her expectantly, not recognizing her for a moment. He blinked then, finally remembering who she was.

He groaned, but sat up, rubbing his back. The porno fell to the floor with a thunk.

"Kenny! What happened to Marie?" Kimberly asked hesitantly. Kenny looked down.

"Her dad found us," he said quietly. Kimberly jumped in alarm.

"Where is he now?" she asked, urgency in her voice.

"... dead," the McCormick boy said finally. Kimberly gasped.

"How is Marie though?" Craig interrupted, saying what Kimberly was thinking. Kenny looked up at both teenagers before him, an annoyed look on his face.

"They won't tell me. She was stabbed, but I don't know if she had any internal bleeding or broken bones. I'm not family," he said in defeat.

"Well I am," a small voice said at the door. Everyone looked over to see Mrs. Carter, alive and well, standing. "Let's see what happened to my daughter."

~000~

Reviews and critisim are appreciated! Flames are too, but will just be deleted after being laughed at. =P


	11. Chapter 11

Running for Her Life- Chapter 11

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- I'm baa~ack! Sorry for the wait, I had a lot of stuff to do! =3=

This is going to be one of the final chapters of this story... I'm not sure if I'll have one or two more, but... I'll figure it out!

~000~

Marie's mother walked up to the desk and slapped her hands on its top. Kenny and Kimberly followed close behind. Craig was not with them, for he had chosen to stay in the waiting room.

The nurse behind the desk was different than before. She was a lot younger and looked very pretty as her curly black hair fell over her shoulders. She had a pair of blue- almost violet- eyes that were framed by dark lashes and black eyeliner. Her lips were candy-apple red and shiny with gloss.

She was writing on a clipboard swiftly and smoothly, but when Kenny cleared his throat, her facial expression switched from calm to irritated.

"Listen kid, I don't want to repeat myself. We can't cure herpes!" she snapped. Kimberly and Kenny looked at each other once before they started laughing hysterically.

The nurse looked up in alarm. "O-Oh! I'm sorry! You see, there was this-" she stopped herself in mid-sentence and took a deep breath, smoothed out her short white skirt, and looked up with a fake smile. "Is there something I can help you with, ma'am?"

"Yes, there is," Marie's mother said tightly as she tried to get the two teens behind her to stop laughing. The nurse's smile faltered. She flushed in embarrassment as she realized her mistake. She cleared her throat.

"W-What can I help you with?" she stammered, quickly adding, "My name is Sarah by the way."

The two teens quieted down and Marie's mother took charge again.

"I would like to see how my daughter is doing." she said.

Sarah spinned around in her chair to face a computer and started typing. "What is your daughter's name, ma'am?"

"Marie Carter."

Sarah stopped typing and turned her head to face the older woman. "You mean the girl who was brought in by that Mysterion kid?"

"Er- Yes."

Sarah smiled again and turned to type at the computer. "And... here we go! Marie Carter."

Kenny and Kimberly took a slight step up to the counter.

"It looks like she's still under her sleeping pill right now."

"How badly was she hurt?" Kimberly asked quietly.

"Let's see..." Sarah said, squinting to see the computer, "Looks like she had three broken ribs, a minor concussion, a large stomach wound, and a lot of other cuts and bruises. She also had signs that she was raped as well..." Sarah trailed off.

Kenny scowled. "When can we see her?" he asked.

Sarah looked up. "You can visit her now, if you want. She's still asleep though."

Kimberly jumped at the opportunity. "That would be great! What room is she in?"

Sarah smiled wryly and said, "Room 179."

Kimberly thanked the woman and sped off, dragging Kenny off with her.

Marie's mother sighed. "Kids these days," she murmured before thanking the nurse again and walking toward an elevator.

~000~

Kimberly sped torward another hallway, taking a sharp left and blindly passing a sign clearly marked: "Rooms 170-179: Right".

"Uh, Kimberly-" Kenny began before he was jerked down another hallway.

"Hey, Kim-," Kenny started, again being cut off as he was taken down another hallway. He sighed, going with the flow as Kimberly raced down several hallways before stopping suddenly.

"I could have sworn..." Kimberly began with a frown. She began studying a sign and Kenny let his eyes wander. Somthing caught Kenny's eye and his mouth dropped open.

It was Tammy Warner. Tammy _fucking _Warner. The same Tammy Warner that gave Dave Darsky a BJ in the T.G.I. Friday's parking lot.

She was in the hospital in a full Candy Striper outfit. Well, one that looked a little too small for her. She wore a short, short skirt; really tight top; knee high red and white striped socks; and red pumps.

Tammy turned around and spotted Kenny. Her eyes widened and she smiled widely before running (quite smoothly actually) over to greet him.

"Ken? It's been ages!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him. Since she was still a year older than him and she was weaing heels, Kenny's head came up to about her chest. So insead of having his head flop over her shoulder, Kenny McCormick got a face full of boob.

And how did Kenny feel about that? Well... let's say he wasn't complaining.

Kimberly jumped and turned around, seeing Kenny's face being mashed into Tammy's chest, his arms dangling limply at his sides. She could almost feel the happiness radiating off of the blonde boy.

Tammy looked up, noticing Kimberly before pulling away from Kenny. Dissapointment flashed on the McCormick's face for a moment before he cleared his throat and stood up.

"Hey, Ken? Is this your girlfriend?" she asked, confusion showing on her face.

Kimberly snorted, saying curtly, "No. I'm Tucker's girl."

"Craig Tucker got a girl? Wow, the things you never expect," Tammy said simply.

"Hey! What the hell do you mean!" Kimberly hissed. Tammy ignored her.

"So do you have a girlfriend? I was thinking we may be able to go out to T.G.I Friday's if you want," she said, winking. Kenny smiled, his eyes filled with lust before Kimberly intervened.

"Actually, we were going to go visit her right now. Sorry, but maybe you'll be able to find Dave Darsky? He might want to out with you again," she said quickly. Kenny whipped his head to complain, his mouth hanging open slightly.

Tammy's face fell. Suddenly, somthing buzzed in her pocket. She grabbed a small device and looked at it for a moment. "Oh, shit. It was nice seeing you again, Ken. I've got crap to do!" She ran away after that.

"Kimberly," Kenny began whining, "What was that for?"

Kimberly giggled. "I just saved you from getting syphilis, _Ken." _

Kenny gasped. "How... how did you know about that?" he asked, his face growing pale.

"It's just a rumor, but you can never take any chances!" she said, laughing slightly before running off again, dragging the aroused blonde with her.

_~000~_

It be done! :D

And I felt the urge to put _Tammy Warner_ in a Candy Striper outfit in here, okay? xD

Reviews? Please? :D


	12. Chapter 12

Running For Her Life- Chapter 12

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- Hello! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been straying from my South Park love. (Hard to believe, I know.) BUT, I swear I'm gonna finish writing this. I promise. I'm not sure how long it's gonna take- because I forgot the rest of my storyline, (I know, I'm a dumbass... -_-) but I will try to finish it up as soon as I possibly can. Thank you for your support with this story!

Disclaimer: I don't own South Park. The richest nerds on the planet- AKA Matt Stone and Trey Parker- do though.

~000~

Kimberly kept dragging Kenneth down the pure white hallway that, in Kenny's opinion, stank of antiseptic and death. He asked the curly-haired brunette to stop for a moment so he could adjust the placement of his scarf so it covered his nose and mouth, and then he nodded and they continued on.

"You know, Kimberly," Kenny began as he jammed his hands in his coat pockets, "We passed the hallway Marie's room was in before we ran into Tammy..."

Kimberly groaned, spinning around. "Why didn't you tell me? Now we're _hopelessly_ lost in Hell's Pass!"

Kenny narrowed his eyes. "I tried telling you, but you were so fucking hyped up on caffeine or some shit that you wouldn't listen to me," he snapped, walking past her and up to a sign. "And we're not _hopelessly _lost in this hospital. It says right here that..." he paused to read the sign, and after a moment, he pointed to the left. "If we go down this hall and take a right, we should get to her room in no ti- the _fuck?"_

Kenny was cut off as Kimberly shoved him out of the way and she looked at the sign herself. She scowled, and started off in the direction the blonde was storming off in. Kenny smirked, but followed close behind.

They walked in silence as they passed doors with patients. Until one of the rooms caught Kenny's eye.

He stopped at a room and peered inside, seeing a small boy lying in the bed. The boy had balloons attached to his bed, and he was hugging a small stuffed bear as his chest rose and fell. Kenny didn't move.

Slouching slightly, the blonde let the memories of his death in the hospital invade his mind, bombarding him with fear. Would this boy suffer in the same way he did?

"Kenny?" Kimberly's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he turned his head to see Kimberly tapping her foot impatiently, but her eyes were gentle. "You okay?"

Kenny nodded, walking forward and brushing past her quickly as he stared at the ground. They were silent for another couple seconds until Kimberly moved to be next to him.

"Hey, Ken?"

"Hm?"

"How come you like Marie so much?"

"Dude, you know you sound like you're five when you ask that, right?" Kenny asked abruptly, turning to face her with an annoyed expression. Kimberly laughed, punching him in the arm.

"Fine, I'll give you that, you jerk," she giggled, but suddenly she smirked. "Seriously though. How would a guy like you fall for a girl like that?"

Kenny raised an eyebrow. "A guy like me?" he wondered aloud. Kimberly sighed.

"You drink, you smoke, you swear. All that and you're sixteen. Plus you run around at night with your underwear over your pants," she said simply. "Marie is a study-hard, quiet girl who still acts like a kid sometimes and gets eight hours of sleep every night. I mean, how the hell does that work?" She laughed. "Is is because you're both blonde or something?"

Kenny though for a minute. "I guess... it's _because _she's so innocent. I mean, I know what she's gone through with the abuse and shit," the boy sighed, frustrated. "I guess... it's just because she balances my fucked up life with her pretty much normal one, minus the abuse."

Kimberly laughed again, and Kenny scowled.

"What the hell is so funny?" he asked.

Kimberly shook her head, smiling. "Nothing, nothing. It's just..." she turned around and started walking down the hall again before speaking. "It's cute how well you explained that."

"_What?"_ Kenny asked loudly. "Fucking _cute?_"

Kimberly laughed again, and Kenny sighed in annoyance before letting the issue drop and going down the hall after her.

The duo walked the rest of the way in silence, the tension between the two of them growing.

That was, until they reached the room with the number "179" etched into the plastic room marker. On a sheet of paper messily taped to it, the name "Marie Carter" was scrawled hastily and so messily it was almost illegible.

Kenny's stomach flipped, but he pushed the door open, his electric blue orbs meeting the tired green eyes of Marie's mother. She was sitting in a chair next to the roll-in bed that Marie was lying on.

Marie didn't look as bad as Kenny's imagination made her look. She only had bandages on a couple places of her arms, and she had white white gauze on her cheek. The swelling in her lips had gone down considerably, compared to the night before. It looked like Kenny's mind had been playing tricks on him that night, because Marie's eye was not black like he thought.

"What took you two so long?" Mrs. Carter asked, smiling softly.

Kimberly smiled, and grabbed a chair and sat down.

"Kenny took me the wrong way and we got lost. Then he ran into one of his old girlfriends and started a chat," she smirked.

"No, I didn't! You were the one who got us lost, and when Tammy ran into us and you started chatting, not me!" Kenny hissed quietly, not wanting to wake up the blonde in the bed.

"Oh right, 'cause you were to busy being suffocated by her boobs. I forgot," she said, laughing. Kenny sighed, but sat down in a chair on the opposite of the room, glaring.

"Well, it looks like you two have a pretty healthy relationship," Marie's mother said sarcasticaly, smiling faintly. Kenny rolled his eyes and Kimberly snorted.

Everyone fell silent after that, and the room was only filled with the beeping of the machines.

A few minutes later, Kimberly yelped, and everyone looked up to see Craig behind her with his arms wrapped around her. She giggled.

"I thought you were staying in the waiting room, Tucker," she said playfully, trying to shove him off.

"I figured you guys were staying in here, so I came up here," he said, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Liar. What was the real reason?" she asked, leaning her head on his.

"Alright, there was a really annoying kid that was down there. He kept telling me he was four. It was pissing me off," he murmured into her hair. She started giggling.

Kenny on the other hand, was ready to throw up. He wore a disgusted expression, and his arms were folded tightly across his chest.

"Get a room you two," he muttered, looking away.

Both humans in the group flipped him off, which he returned with his own middle finger.

"All right you three," chirped Marie's mother. "That's enough."

"Sorry, Mrs. Carter," Kimberly said. "He's just cranky and tired."

"Am not," Kenny snapped, but Kimberly was telling the truth. He _was _tired. He had stayed up nearly all night waiting for news about Marie. He barely had enough energy after he had ran home and back to the hospital to change out of his Mysterion costume.

"McCormick, I suggest you get some sleep, because I'm not pulling off the act tonight," Craig said sharply, choosing his words carefully not to clue in Marie's mother.

As Craig suspected, the older woman looked suspicious.

"Their job," Kimberly quickly lied. "They share it some nights and split the pay. Tonight is Kenny's night to work, though. Craig's busy."

Kenny opened his mouth to complain, but Mrs. Carter cut in.

"Now, Kenny, I don't mind if you sleep, and I don't Marie wouldn't mind either. Get some sleep," she said, smiling.

Kenny didn't like it, but he figured he better should.

He hid a yawn in his elbow, leaning back on the chair. He closed his eyes and put his arm over his eyes, and soon after that, he was out like a light.

~000~

A/N- I'm sorry if that chapter was short! Don't hurt me! *shields self*

Anyway, I'm gonna see how faithful my readers are. :D

When this story gets a total of 42 reviews- that's 4 from now for the people who don't feel like doing math- I'll update.

Got it? Reviews are what fuel me to update people! :)


	13. Chapter 13

Running for Her Life- Chapter 13

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- Holy shit, guys. I was trying to put this on yesterday, but somthing was wrong with the document uploader on Fanfiction. So here it is today! |D

You guys are... so effing amazing. I can't thank you enough for all the reviews, really.

Luckily enough, for you guys, I watched, like, 4 hours of South Park today before I started writing this, so maybe I'll get their personalities across better. XDDD

Please enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own South Park

~000~

"_Kenneh! Kenneh, wake the fuck up!"_

"_Shut up, fatass! If he's asleep, let him sleep!"_

"_Cartman, please just listen to Kyle and let him sleep. He's had it rough."_

"_Pfft, rough. Right, like I'll believe that. I'm not listening to that fucking Jew! Kenneh!"_

A slap across the face was what jolted the poor McCormick out of his dreams, so he sat up abruptly. Seeing his best friends, and Cartman, in front of him, he frowned under his scarf and rubbed his abused cheek, swearing.

"I'm sorry, Kenny. I asked him not to," Kimberly said, sighing. Kenny shrugged, like it couldn't be helped, but stopped tending to his cheek.

Yawning, he looked around the room. Noticing Mrs. Carter was missing, he raised an eyebrow.

"Where did she..?" he began, only to be interrupted by Kimberly.

"She had an emergency," she said, shrugging. The girl put her wrist to her head in a mock fainting pose. "She said she hoped she could trust us to look after her daughter," she said dramatically.

Kenny's eyes lingered on Marie for a moment before he stood up, his taste-buds craving nicotine. He started walking out of the room, only to be stopped by the a curly-haired brunette.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kimberly asked, her hands on her hips.

Kenny gazed down at her with a steady expression. "I'm leaving to have a smoke. Can't smoke in a hospital, you know."

Kimberly gazed right back at him before sighing and dropping her pose. "Fine, but make it quick." Kenny rolled his eyes.

"Are you my mother?" he shot back, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he left the room.

"Dude, Kenny, wait up!" Kyle called, running to catch up with the blonde, followed by Stan and Cartman. Kenny looked at them questioningly.

"Why-" he began, only to be cut off again.

"I want one," Cartman said stiffly, passing him. Kenny didn't look like he was convinced, but looked over at the other two in expectancy.

"I want to know what happened," Kyle explained, and Stan nodded behind him.

Kenny shrugged, but when they made their way out the doors of the hospital, they went around back where they were sure no one would be. They all took seats around in the snow as Kenny took out a carton of cigarettes.

Cartman held out his hand, but Kenny just stared at it.

"Hand one over," Eric said, frowning. Kenny looked up at him, his gaze asking, "_Really?" _Cartman understood, fuming. "Yeah, dammit!"

Kenny shook his head, handing over a cigarette before pulling out one of his own and lighting both of them. Taking a drag and exhaling, he leaned up against the hospital before beginning.

"Marie's dad is dead," he began, being blunt. Cartman choked on his cigarette smoke and started coughing, trying to look cool as he coughed out, "Meant to do that."

"Holy shit, Kenny!" Stan exclaimed. "You didn't kill him, did you?"

Kenny gave him an annoyed look.

Kyle's eyes widened. "How.. how did it feel?" the Jewish boy asked carefully, shifting from sitting cross legged to having his knees against his chest.

Kenny blinked, bewildered by a question like that coming from Kyle. He looked down, trying to formulate an answer.

In fact, Kenny didn't know how he felt. From being killed all the time to actually _doing_ the killing, he expected some sort of change. He expected some guilt or some remorse about killing his best friend's dad, let alone that friend being the girl that Kenny secretly adored. But Kenny didn't, or couldn't for that matter, feel a scrap of _any _emotion whatsoever.

"I..." Kenny began, furrowing his brown in thought. "I don't know how it felt. I was too..." he chose his words carefully, taking another drag on his cigarette before continuing, "... mad, I guess, about her dad fucking her up like that, that I just... pulled the trigger."

He fell silent before Cartman spoke up.

"Where'd you hide the body?" he asked, shredding the last statements up like a paper shredder.

"Cartman!" Kyle yelled, balling his hands up into fists.

"What? I'm just wondering!" Cartman said, putting up his hands in mock surrender.

Kenny narrowed his eyes, and crushed the remains of his finished cigarette into the snow beneath him before standing.

"If you absolutely _have _to know, fatass, I buried him and my dad's shitty gun in South Park cemetery. Nothing but dead bodies there, and there are gunshots in my neighborhood all the time, so it was nothing out of the ordinary," he said, disgust in his tone as he made his way over to Cartman and punched him in the face.

"Eh! What was that for, Kenneh!" he screeched, holding his injured cheek.

Kenny was back up against the hospital before he answered. "Waking me up, asshole. I had a rough night, and I'm fucking tired. I'm gonna have another rough night tonight." Kenny groaned, cracking his knuckles.

"What do you need to do tonight, dude?" Stan asked, stretching slightly.

"I need to tell the cops that Mr. Carteris dead. I figure I'll tell him something along the lines of, "He got shot at a bar not too far from here by and unknown person. They buried him in the cemetery so they couldn't get caught.", so they don't have to keep looking for him. Stupid bastard," Kenny said simply, closing his eyes tiredly.

Kyle kept shifting in his seat, like he was afraid that the police force would jump from the sky and arrest them all. Stan sighed.

"What's the matter, Kyle?" he asked, causing Kenny to open his eyes to gaze at the boy.

"I just..." Kyle sat cross legged again, holding his head with his hands. "I just don't know if I can deal with my best friend being a murderer," he said quietly, covering his face with his hands.

Kenny snorted. "Don't think that I killed him, say I hurt him in self defense and he bled to death." He looked down at the ground, his eyes humorless. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Stan killed more Japanese people when he was destroying their whaling boats filming Whale Wars than me just killing one guy."

Kyle let out a strangled groan, falling back on the snow so he was lying down.

"You guys are impossible," he murmured, laying his hands out at his sides.

"Yeah, we try, Jew," Cartman said distainfully, squashing the remains of his cigarette under his snow boot.

"Shut up, Cartman," Kyle said, but he sounded more tired than angry. Rolling over so he was facing Kenny, he propped his head up on his arm. "So.. this is all over? The whole thing about hiding Marie and shit?"

Kenny smirked, nodding slightly. "Yeah. Yeah, it is. Let's go back in now before Kimberly eats my fucking head off."

The other three nodded in agreement, and they all went back inside, leaving all their stress out with the snow.

~000~

Sorry if this chapter seemed short, but I only wanted a chapter with just Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny together. So I wrote this.

(And yes, I believe Cartman would be a smoker, only because he thinks it'll boost his image.)

Reviews are, again, what fuel me to update~

Thank you!


	14. Chapter 14

Running for Her Life – Chapter 14

A South Park Fanfiction

A/N- Sorry I haven't been updating. I _will try _to finish this story before I have to start school again, because I'm told I'm going to get- ack- LOADED with homework. And I still haven't started summer reading yet. Hehehe... yeah, I'm screwed. XD Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Marie and Kimberly.

~000~

Returning to the room, Kenny took his place back at his chair, his senses sharpened now that he was completely awake.

The hospital room was now housing Marie, Kimberly, Craig, Kyle, Stan, Cartman, Tweek, Wendy, and Kenny himself. The room being tiny, they stood around awkwardly as Kenny, Kimberly, and Mrs. Carter's seat were taken.

Marie's mother wasn't back yet, but Tweek was seated on the chair so he wouldn't knock anything over if he lost it.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Kenny asked irritably, still quite pissed his nap had been interrupted. He folded his arms across his chest and laid back in the chair, half tempted to fall asleep again. He didn't however, because he knew that Cartman and Kyle's expected bickering would keep him awake.

Stan looked over at Wendy, his expression one of accusation. Wendy put her hands on her hips.

"I happen to worry when Craig stands up in the middle of class and walks out without saying anything after Kimberly and you don't show up for school," she said. Wendy glanced over at the Tucker, a bored expression on her face. "You have detention tomorrow because of that, by the way."

Craig shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, but flipped her off anyway. Wendy scoffed but didn't react negatively. Instead, she looked over at Kenny expectantly. "What happened to Marie, anyway?"

Kenny's expression turned dark, but he looked away.

"Fuck off," he hissed. "I'm tired of repeating things."

Wendy raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond. She turned to Kimberly, looking for answers.

Kimberly sighed, but only said, "Her dad." She paused, adding, "He's dead now, though, so don't worry." She shrugged, her eyes resting on the edge of Marie's bed.

Wendy didn't look surprised.

"Who killed him?" she asked, but by her tone, she sounded like she already knew.

Everyone- except Tweek, who was continuously letting out strange sounds and shrieks- had their eyes fall on the boy in the orange parka in the chair, who was looking out the window. Curious by the sudden silence, he looked back at the group.

Meeting everyone's eyes, he scowled.

"_What?"_ he asked, narrowing his eyes. Wendy smirked.

"So Underwear Boy was the hero, huh?" she teased. "It only makes sense."

"But doesn't it bother you? That he killed someone?" Kyle interjected. Wendy shook her head.

"Half the people in this room have all killed _something_. Craig came close to killing that guinea-pirate. Stan's killed Japanese. Fatass has killed so many it's hard to count. Kyle, you killed Jesus," she said, laughing.

Kyle's face turned red, and Cartman started yelling, "_I'm not fat! It's all muscle, bitch!"_ along with a few other curses and yells.

Kenny groaned, and the room fell silent. He glared at the group again.

"What the fuck? Me groaning isn't doing anything, right?" he complained. He glanced at the clock, his eyes widening.

Swearing furiously, he stood up, stumbling slightly.

"Why didn't any of you tell me it was after six? I'm going to be late!" he said.

"Where are you going? You don't have a date, right?" Kimberly asked. Kenny narrowed his eyes, looking annoyed.

"Fuck no. I have to go talk to the police about the whereabouts of Marie's father. They're already incompetent enough without my help, and knowing them, they won't stop searching unless I tell them to." He sighed, irritated, and ran his hand through his hair. He looked up at Kimberly mockingly. "Now can I go, Mom?"

She grinned at him. "Sure, honey. Just be back for dinner," she joked.

Kenny sighed but waved goodbye as he left the room.

~000~

Mysterion quickly edged along the already dark streets, trying to reach the police station before anyone went home for the night.

Finally reaching the building, he climbed the fire-escape on the side of the building and pulled himself up to balance on the open windowsill, waiting for somebody to notice his presence.

Nobody seeming to see him, he cleared his throat irritably. Just as Mysterion thought, some jumpy officer carrying a stack or two of papers leaped two feet in the air, dumping the pile of papers all over the floor. Mysterion sighed, not wanting _that _to happen.

"Ack! Mysterion!" the officer said, his voice shaking.

"Where's the chief?" Mysterion asked, his voice hard. The male officer squeaked, and Mysterion was amazed a grown man could make that sound and wasn't Tweek.

"I-I'll be right back with him," he said, his voice faltering. He scurried off a couple second later.

Mysterion almost laughed aloud. Why was it that the police force in South Park were such wimps? That and they were still afraid of him for some strange reason. They didn't remember that he was just another teenager from South Park, either. (Mysterion thought it had to do with him dying shortly after they had arrested him for _being_ Mysterion. ...yeah, that still sounded about right.) Jesus, he had only been giving them tips on where the biggest criminals in South Park were, and-

"...sterion? Mysterion?" the chief barked, and Mysterion snapped to attention, being ripped out of his thoughts mercilessly. After he saw he had his attention the chief continued. "What are you doing here?"

Mysterion cleared his throat. "I came to tell you that George Carter had been killed."

There were gasps from the office. The chief looked confused, though he tried not to show it.

"You mean that asshole who broke out of prison? How'd he die?" he demanded. He moved his had to stroke his mustache, trying to look smart. Mysterion had to hold back laughter.

"He was shot by someone at one of the bars out toward Denver. I don't know who it was, but the killer got so scared that he buried him out in South Park Cemetary with the gun," Mysterion lied easily. It worked, for the police men started whispering amongst themselves like schoolgirls. Mysterion almost snickered.

All that was cut short with one simple question.

"Are you sure that you had nothing to do with it?" the chief asked. Mysterion froze for a millisecond, but then loosened up by scoffing.

"Why would I have killed some idiotic man? I had nothing to do with this," he said bitterly. The chief paused, but nodded and looked away from him for a second, and Mysterion took that moment to slip away into the darkness.

~000~

Keeping his footing on the edge of the sidewalk, Mysterion sprinted away from the police station as fast as he could. It was especially chilly that night, and the teen rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm himself because his costume wasn't enough to do the job.

He knew that visiting hours had to have been over at the hospital, so he figured he'd just go home to get some sleep. He slowed his sprint to a slow walk, and he moved to walk on the edge of the road instead.

What happened next happened so _quickly_, Mysterion hadn't realized that anything had happened until it had. The next thing he knew he was on the ground, his arm and head screaming in pain. A family surrounding him, screeching and crying. A car, still running, was a few feet in front of him. It didn't have it's headlights on.

"G-God dammit," he whispered harshly. As he felt something warm ooze around his head, blackness formed on the edges of his vision, closing in faster and faster until he was fully consumed by it, all of his pain melting away.

~000~

Oh my God, I've killed Kenny! :O (I only did it because he didn't die enough in this fic!)

Review, review, review, and I'll update Sunday. Promise. :P


	15. Chapter 15

Running for Her Life - Chapter 15

A South Park fanfic

A/N- Uh, hi. *waves* I would like to, um, *cough* apologize for not updating in... *looks at calender* ... three months. *dodges bottles and cans that are thrown at her* I'm sorry! The first three months of school have been *cough*amazing*cough* really tough on me, with all the homework... and... *crickets chirp*

... Okay, I'm sorry. Just go on ahead and read just so I can see if I still have any faithful readers left. *cries in emo-corner*

**~000~**

Kenny awoke with a start, sitting up abruptly in his bed. There was a dull throbbing where his head hit the pavement the night before, and he winced at the pain caused by his rapid movement. Running a hand through his messy blonde hair, he yawned groggily as he tried to get out of bed.

Suddenly he heard feet pounding down the hall, and his door flew open, causing Kenny to leap up on top of his bed. He wasn't sure why he did it, it wouldn't have helped him any if someone was... Kenny dismissed the though immediately, shaking his head violently.

Kimberly stood in his doorway, sucking in the stale air of Kenny's room as she leaned on his doorway, her clothes disshelveled. Kenny blinked in suprise.

"Kenneth McCormick, what the _hell are you doing still in bed?_" she yelled when she got her breath back. Kenny didn't respond, because quite frankly, he didn't know how to.

"Put on a shirt and come with me! Jesus Christ, you're so lazy!" she snapped, stomping over to his chest of drawers before ripping one of the drawers open.

"Kimberly, what the fu-" Kenny was cut off as Kimberly flung a shirt at his face and it collided with a smacking sound. He pulled the shirt off just before a pair of clean (or mostly clean, Kenny couldn't remember) jeans slammed against his face as well.

After Kenneth removed the articals of clothing out of the way of his mouth, he tried speaking again.

"Kimberly, what the fuck are you doing in my room?" Kenny demanded. Kimberly spun around on her heels, getting up in Kenny's face.

"I'm _here_, you ungrateful bastard, because it's nearly twelve 'o clock in the afternoon and you haven't gotten up yet!" she said, pointing an accusing finger at Kenny. She grinned, taking a step back. "We're gonna surprise Marie with somthing nice when she wakes up, okay?"

Kenny scowled as he put on his shirt. "Why the fuck do I need to come? I'm exausted. A lot of things happened last night." It wasn't a lie, a lot of things _did_ happen, it was just anything Kenny would say would fall on deaf ears. Especially if Kimberly was the one he was talking to.

Kimberly scoffed, like this was the easiest thing to answer in the world. "Because I said so. Now let's go," she said, pulling him up off the bed. Well, at least she tried too, she was pretty weak, so she only succeded in almost pulling Kenny's arm out of its socket. Which had happened to him before, so he didn't want it happening to him again. He stood up, brushing off his jeans he had apparently worn to bed before carrying the jeans Kimberly had handed... no. That she had _thrown at his face_ back into random drawer. But not before something caught Kimberly's eye.

"Ooh!" she exclaimed excitedly, leaping over and snatching the Mysterion costume out of the drawer before Kenny had time to close it.

"Fuck!" he spat, trying to grab it back, but she had gotten just far enough away so she was out of his grasp. She held the thin costume out in front of her, studying it before letting out a sound of annoyance as Kenny grabbed it out of her hands and replaced it in the drawer, covering it up with a couple copies of Playboy magazine.

"Pfft. That's classy," Kimberly said, crossing her arms as she gave Kenny a dirty look. Kenny rolled his eyes and held back another biting comeback with a few choice swear-words as he grabbed his orange parka out of his closet. He left the room, listening for Kimbery's quiet trot out of his room before continuing out of his house, ignoring his mother's and father's snoring on the small loveseat in the front room.

Kimberly and Kenny both went out of the front door before heading off torward the mall.

~000~

An hour anda half later, Kenny and Kimberly were sitting at the food court, Kimberly looking defeated while Kenny sipped at a Harbucks cup of coffee. Gloom seemed to have been radiating off of Kimberly, because Kenny kept sighing about every ten seconds she was silent. He was hoping to annoy her just a little so she wouldn't be so damn depressed, but it didn't set her off.

"Jesus, Kimberly. Brighten up a little fucking bit, wouldn't you?" Kenny said, slamming his coffee cup on the table. "So what if we couldn't find somthing for Marie?"

Kimberly looked up dispairingly. Kenny groaned.

"Right now is not the time for you to be so fucking melodramatic," he said, irritated.

A shriek stopped Kimberly before she could say anything, and the two whipped their heads around in the direction of it. It looked like Butters was being picked on... again.

Kenny had mixed feelings about helping the little guy, but he chose to ignore it, knowing that the small blonde would probably be fine later. Kimberly glared at Kenny, clearing her throat. The blonde in the orange parka looked at her with another irritated expression. She pointed over at Leopold Stotch, raising an eyebrow. Kenny sighed, standing up.

"Fine, fine," he said, pulling his hood up and putting his hands in his pockets. He approached the group who was picking on Butters, clearing his throat.

One of the guys turned around. "What do you want, McCormick?" he asked. Kenny raised an eyebrow. He knew this guy? Since when? How? Kenny shrugged off the knowledge before pointing torward Butters, who was wearing a Hello Kitty hairclip today. Kenny sighed. No wonder the poor kid was picked on so much.

Boy Two laughed, motioning toward Butters. Kenny gladly grabbed Butters by the collar (not roughly, Kenny didn't want Leopold to be afraid of everyone his entire life) and tried walking away, but he was held back by Boy One who grabbed the back of his parka.

"Where are you goin' with that little fag?" he asked. Butters whimpered. Kenny responded by punching him in the eye and calmly walking away with the Stotch before Boy One, Two, or Three knew what happened. He had gotten back to the table and sat Butters down before the boys reached them. By that time, Kimberly had stepped up to the plate.

The boys stopped to a screeching halt, all of them trying to look cool. Kenny coughed into his sleeve to cover up his laughter.

"Yo. If you'll excuse us, we need to get over to that little blonde kid. And by the way, you doin' anything tomorrow?" Boy Two said smoothly. Kimberly giggled bubbly, a sign she was going to tear this kid a new asshole. Kenny lit up a cigarette, ignoring the clearly marked "No Smoking" signs on the food court tables, to keep himself from laughing.

Butters stood up on shaky legs. "A-Actually, I can just come ov-" he was cut off as both Kenny and Kimberly replied with two, "Shut up and sit down, Butters!". He obeyed them, looking down at his feet as he did so.

"Well, actually, now that you mention it, I _am _doing somthing tomorrow. With my boyfriend Craig Tucker," Kimberly said, laughing. The three boys fell silent. Two's eye darted in between Kenny, who was trying to blow a smoke ring, and Kimberly, who was still laughing.

"Well, how about you dump people like Tucker and McCormick and come hang out with us?" Three said quickly, laughing. Kimberly stopped laughing immediately, cracking her knuckles.

"Nope. Fuck you," she said simply. She snapped her fist outward, hitting Two in the nose before punching One inthe eye Kenny had punched again.

Well, they ran away after that, Kimberly and Kenny laughing while Butters sat there uncomfortably, trembling. Kimberly noticed this after a second, sitting next to the blonde.

"Hey, Butters. I have a little favor to ask of you," she said gently. Kenny sat on the table in front of Butters, taking another drag on his cigarette. Butters looked up, tilting his head to the side.

"What is is?"

~000~

About fifteen minutes later, Kenny and Kimberly were ready to leave for the hospital, leaving Butters in the safest hands they could find, which were Jimmy and Timmy who were hanging out in front of the Banana Republic. Kenny could almost hear the kindergoth saying somthing about "Nazi conformist cheerleaders".

Kimberly grinned as she waved a tiny bag back and forth, skipping out of the mall happily. Kenny followed her, slouched over and scowling at the elated brunette in front of him.

"Come on! Let's go!" she said, pointing in the direction of the hospital.

Kenny could only nod. What else could he do?

~000~

*crickets continue to chirp*

... that was terrible. I apologize for the shittiness that is this chapter. *gloom*

Reviews would help my self esteem? Can I see how many people actually want to see an ending? Please?

Next chapter is most likely the last chapter. (Aaaahhggg. I said that, like, for chapters ago, didn't I?) Oh well.

Thanks for reading~


	16. Chapter 16

Running for Her Life – Chapter 16

A South Park Fanfiction

**Soo... how's it been? I really have no other exscuse for this being so overdue other than laziness, but since I got, like, three more reviews I felt I should get off my lazy ass and finish this for you guys. Thank you to all who reviewed, favorited, or watched this story! Marie is simply happy to have had so many people interested in this! I can't thank you guys enough. I never would have thought this would have become so popular. Please enjoy this last chapter!**

**~000~**

Kenny kicked the air under his feet as Kimberly began speaking rapidly to the nurse at the front desk. He rolled his eyes as the nurse replied with the same, "_The hospital's visiting hours do not start for another hour and a half. Please wait with the others in the waiting room, miss."_

Kimberly huffed. "I can't wait another fucking hour and a half! We need to see Marie _now!_"

The nurse gave her an irritated look. "If I have to miss, I will have you forcibly removed from the premises." Kimberly cringed, obviously not too thrilled for that plan.

"Fine, bitch," the brunette spat, grabbing Kenny by the wrist and dragging him back to wait in the waiting room with her. Kenny was surprised his wrist hadn't popped out of its socket yet. Again.

He sighed as Kimberly took a seat and crossed her arms, the bag from the mall containing Marie's small trinket falling to rest beside her. The McCormick boy ran a hand through his messy hair before taking a seat next to her.

Kimberly sighed a second before pulling a small cellphone out of her pocket, dialing a number quickly. She put the phone up to her ear and blinked, playing with a few threads that were coming off of a hole in her jeans. She crossed her arms after a minute and brightened as she got through to whomever she was calling.

"Craig!" she said cheerfully. Kenny rolled his eyes, knowing that was exactly who she was calling. "I texted you earlier, but you didn't pick up..." She began nodding and continued the conversation, Kenny deciding to pull out a Playboy at read it while she talked.

The Johnson girl noticed and smacked it out of his hands roughly without skipping a word in her conversation. Kenny swore loudly, elbowing Kimberly in the gut hard. She repeated the foul words just as loud, the others in the room glaring at the two to keep their mouths shut. This was a family hospital for Christ's sakes!

Without muttering an apology to either Kimberly or the crowd, he quickly swooped over and picked the dirty magazine up, his taste buds craving for sudden dose of nicotine as his stress levels began to rise. Fishing through his pockets, he unfortunately found no relief for his dilemma, instead finding a few empty gum wrappers. He grumbled, crossing his arms as he slid lower into the sticky pleather cushions, glaring at the floor.

He could tell this was going to be a long day. And Kimberly yapping on her phone all day wasn't going to help. Kenny could already feel an oncoming migraine as the brunette beside him continued her conversation with the Tucker boy. He decided that counting the specks on the floor tiles of the hospital was going to be a lot more entertaining than a silly old magazine.

With hot chicks in it.

Wearing swimsuits or nothing at all.

…

God fucking dammit.

Kenny was beginning to feel uncomfortable as he stared longingly at his magazine with all the stares he was getting. He sort of expected it. They were two high-school students that were supposed to be in school at this moment. He was sure he could pass off as a drop-out (considering the fact the only reason he wasn't was because Kyle tutored him constantly), but Kimberly most certainly did _not._

Her pure white pea-coat look freshly cleaned. _Kenny had no fucking clue how there wasn't a stain on the whole damn thing. If he had one, it wouldn't be white two seconds after he bought it. _She wore a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a frilly blue and white blouse, probably bought at the Banana Republic. _She hated that store and only bought them for the irony, but she wore them well, Kenny had to admit._ Her fingerless gloves, bought at a Hot Topic just to piss off the Goth Kids, were made of leather and mesh. _The leather was most likely fake and probably made of the same material as the chair Kenny was sitting on, but what the hell. _Lastly, she was wearing a pair of converse All-Stars, black as the pleather her gloves were made of. _Bought the same time Kenny stole his._

Kimberly was a whole fucking planet away from Kenny when it came to class. The McCormick seemed like he just tumbled in after her like a dust bunny. Kenny looked down quickly and grimaced. Alright, lower and dirtier than a dust bunny. Why the hell did she hang out with him again?

Oh, right. 'Cause she was dating troublemaker and bad boy Craig Tucker.

Who wasn't actually as bad as everyone made him out to be. He flips off everyone, but that's just a Tucker thing, and it's not his fault when it's a Tucker thing.

Dammit. Kenny needed a cigarette, and fast. Maybe Cartman would pity him and hand off one of his when he got here. After all, it was only going to be about another twenty minutes before they got out of school. The clock in the hospital read two twenty-five, and school got out a quarter after. Visiting hours started again at three.

Kenny's craving screamed in protest at the thought, but he tried to ignore them as he bit his cheek so hard he faintly tasted blood. He grumbled a bit more and stopped biting his cheek, studying the curves and creases in his hand until Kimberly decided to hang up about fifteen minutes later.

She sighed dramatically, slouching down in the ripped up seat after stuffing her phone in her pocket. Kimberly glanced up at the clock briefly before sighing again and sitting down in her seat. "Craig has detention today," she stated loudly.

Kenny rolled his eyes. "That's not stopping him from coming, is it?"

Kimberly sighed, rolling her eyes. "Of course not, shit-for-brains. He'll just get another one tomorrow. That he'll skip again."

Kenny sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head on the wall behind him. "Our school doesn't have a very good way of discipline, does it?" He tried focusing on something else other than the loud buzzing in his head for a cigarette.

Kimberly shook her head and stared at another chair with a split down the middle of the seat cushion, starting to peel off and bleeding stuffing from all directions. She realized that Kenny had his eyes closed and answered vocally. "Nope. It's just detention after detention. You go to one and you stop the chain." She cracked her knuckles out of habit to ease the silence around the two teens. "Actually, now that you mention it, finals are coming soon, aren't they?"

Kenny opened his eyes to glance at Kimberly mockingly. "Like I know. And I didn't mention it at all." Kimberly pursed her lips and looked coolly at the blonde.

"Well you better be prepared for all night study sessions. You have a lot to learn if you want to pass another year, you dick." She threw her fists in the air and let out a small whoop.

Kenny grimaced. "More like cramming sessions," he muttered darkly. Kimberly grinned cheekily in his direction.

"I'm starting to feel sorry for Kyle, considering he has to explain Algebra to you," she teased. Kenny sighed, but nodded like he understood.

"Why do you need to pity me?"

Kenny looked up to see Kyle with his arms crossed next to Stan and Wendy. Kenny stood abruptly, grabbing the shorter boy by the shoulders.

"Cartman. Where," he stated desperately, realizing a few moments later it didn't even make any sense. His tastebuds screamed out when his friend didn't answer right away. Kyle arched an eyebrow, pointing toward the doors as his forest-green eyes clouded in confusion.

"Outside," the red-head replied slowly. "Why?" Kenny was already halfway towards the door, hurling back the word "nicotine" without turning around. Kyle frowned, but sat down where Kenny had been sitting when they arrived. Kimberly scoffed at the blonde's getaway, noticing he almost barreled Craig over as the Tucker was making his entrance.

"I was wondering how long he'd last. He smoked his last one on the way here," she said smugly. "He's getting really nervous, so that helps of course."

Kyle sighed through his nose, pulling his knees up to his chest as he looked over to Kimberly in question. "What were you guys talking about?" he asked, brushing a few red curls from his face.

Kimberly smiled wryly. "Finals." Kyle laughed, nodding.

"Oh, right," he said absentmindedly. Kimberly nudged him in the knee, pursing her lips.

"Oh come on, Kyle," she teased. "You probably've been studying for them already!" Kyle rolled his eyes, sighing again before returning her gesture gently.

"Why did you and Kenny cut today?" he returned, dodging the question with his own. Kimberly tucked an auburn curl behind her ear, looking down at her phone. Her fingers clicked away at the teeny keyboard before she snapped it shut and answered.

"We got Marie a little something at the mall," she said offhandedly, resting her head on her palm. She waved to Craig as he finally joined the group. "Where's Tweekers?"

Craig shrugged at the mention of his best friend. "Dunno," he said, jamming his hands in his pockets. There was a break in the conversation as an announcement on the overhead speaker crackled to life and said visiting hours would begin shortly.

There was a familiar yelp somewhere in the throng of people huddled over near the door, and Tweek was pushed gently towards the others by Kenny who had returned with Cartman.

"Dude," Stan said, "Thanks for saying hello when we walked in." Sarcasm was laced through his words, but the words were dull and playful. Kenny rolled his eyes, clearing his throat as he glanced again at the clock. Cartman looked to his left, eyeing a stack of magazines before looking back at the group.

"I really don't want to be here," he stated flatly.

"Then fuck off," Kenny shot back easily, distracted.

"Fine. You're not welcome for that smoke," Cartman retaliated, flipping the blonde off. "Screw you guys, I'm going home." He shuffled out the door after that.

Kyle glared at the door. "Why the hell did he even come with us if he wasn't going to stay?" Many others shrugged and Kyle began muttering under his breath.

"Hey, Ken," Kimberly said, snapping her phone shut again. "Let's not get lost and run into whats-her-face, okay?" She grinned in his direction, and Kenny flushed in embarrassment.

"I'm not the one who ran down the damn hallway like this was a psycho-ward made of candy," he muttered. Kimberly winked before standing up, stretching.

"Come on, let's go find her," she said. She sauntered away from the pleather and the others followed after. There wasn't much conversation, much of the walk silence because of the growing knot in Kenny's stomach. He hid his face underneath his scarf, pulling the strings attached to his hood tightly. Stan caught a glance and laughed, jabbing Kenny in the ribs playfully.

Then the came to the room etched with the number "179". Kenny's stomach plummeted.

Kimberly held a finger to her lips for quiet, and peeked in the door. She gave a squeal of delight and ran in. The others were stunned for a split second before understanding, filing in the door.

Marie was sitting up, a thick book in her lap, and she was being crushed in a giant bear hug by Kimberly. She looked a little overwhelmed by everything, her sharp green eyes wide as she gazed at the amount of people entering her doorway.

"O-Oh wow," she stammered, blinking rapidly. Kimberly retreated from her embrace, placing the small bag on her lap. The brunette opened her arms in a grandeur appearance, shouting a huge tadah. Marie's eyes slowly went to gaze at the bag.

"Oh wow."

"Kenny helped me buy it," Kimberly said, putting her hands behind her back and smiling. Kenny rolled his eyes.

"That's a lie and you know it. Butters did most of the 'magic'," he said, his voice muffled greatly by the obtrusions preventing his voice from escaping clearly. Marie didn't seem to care. She smiled.

"Jeez, you didn't have to get me anything," she said. Her smile softened, her eyes downcast. "I already put you in enough trouble, some people more than others." Kimberly scoffed before Kenny could.

"Just shut up and open it. If you feel so bad about it you might as well just see what the fruits of our labor cost us," Kimberly said, crossing her arms. Marie faltered, but nodded slowly before her eyes returned to the bag. Her hands carefully rummaged through the thin sheets of tissue paper before she pulled out a small velvet box. Her eyes narrowed.

"This looks expensive," she said, her voice holding a note of warning. Kimberly shook it away and begged her to open it. Marie sighed quietly before puling open the lid.

Inside was a necklace, simple and plain. A tiny pearl hung off the silver chain. Marie's eyes sparkled but she still pressed Kimberly. "How much was it?" she asked.

Kimberly grinned mischievously. "I'll never tell. That would spoil the present." Marie sighed, smiling, and closed the lid.

"Thank you, Kimberly."

"No problem, babe," the brunette said, giggling. "How are ya feeling?"

Marie frowned, looking down. "It hurts to breathe. I-It just hurts to do a lot of things." Suddenly her head shot up like she remembered something. Her peircing gaze fell on Kenny. "Oh, thank you, by the way." Kenny looked away.

"The necklace was no problem, Mar-"

"Not for the necklace."

Startled, Kenny's gaze snapped over to the blonde on the bed. Her eyes didn't falter. "You set me free. Really, I can't thank you enough for that."

Kenny frowned. "I didn't do anything that crazy sounding."

Marie looked unamused. "Fine, dick. You at least killed my psycho-dad, and. . . saved my life." She brightened, smiling. "That's enough to thank you for." Kenny almost had a heart-attack right there. He looked away, pulling his hood's strings tighter.

"I was nothing," he mumbled.

"Hey, Marie?" The voice was Kyle's. Marie turned her head, showing she was ready to listen. "Since finals are coming up, Kenny's gonna need some help cramming at the last minute. You in again this year?"

Marie's shoulders deflated. "Finals already?" she whined. Sighing quickly, she looked back up, putting a determined face. "I'll try my best. It's up to us to make sure he doesn't fail Sophmore year!"

Everyone laughed; light happy laughter like birds chirping after a storm. Everyone was safe and sound, and everyone was alive.

Life was beautiful, and it was going to stay that way.

**~000~**

**And THAT, my darlings, is a wrap. Thank you SO much for everything, and thank you for doing all that you did to help me keep this story going! It was wonderful sharing this with you!**

**~ EmeraldGreen**


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